Coal Train: 2--- Radio: 0
'This JVC model, purchased circa 1993, featured a detachable faceplate to discourage theft, 15 FM presets, 5 AM presets, an auto-reversing tape deck, scanning for all frequencies, scanning for preset frequencies, a Bass-Boost thingy, pre-amp output for connecting an external amplifier, and 25 watts per channel output. It’d be a shame to simply throw it away, wouldn’t it?' 
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(30 votes)
Published: Apr 03, 2005 12:16 a.m.
Viewed 215 times |
After 12 years, my old car stereo got a cracked soldered joint somewhere within, and eventually quit working altogether. I got a much nicer one at a junkyard for $20, partially smeared with what looks like blood, perhaps from a fatal traffic accident. But what to do with the old one?
I live in an area that’s too densely populated to put a hillbilly bomb in it and blow it up. But the Conrail line, formerly Pennsylvania Railroad, is only a block away! I had my answer.
I walked along the tracks to a bend, taking me out of sight of the town, put the radio on the tracks, and waited. And waited. No train.
Some dumb little kid had wandered along the tracks, throwing rocks from the rail bed into the river. He’d run toward town when our eyes met, but return soon after. I thought this little prick would steal the radio. Worse, he might cry to his parents or some knuckle-dragging cop about the scary-looking dude he met on the tracks, so I stayed put. Still no train.
I explored some of the litter of industrialization. The storms from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 caused widespread flooding and landslides in this area, some 1500 miles away from Florida. There was furniture, a downed utility pole, an old toilet, bicycles... but still no train.
I checked out a trail on the other side of the tracks. It led to an unused part of the foundry. A tank stood there, rusting to oblivion. A guard shack stood at a disused parking lot. The shack was empty. I see the fiber optic link across the state is hidden on this rail line in plain sight, but buried where they couldn’t be screwed with. Still no train. The kid was gone, but I picked up the radio and left, as it was getting dark.
I returned late one night and put the radio in the same place, planning to pick it up in the morning. Surely there would be a train by morning! Actually, the train came within 30 minutes, rattling the house the way it always does. I went back to the tracks and pawed around in the dark, looking for the remains of the radio.
I was expecting to find the radio intact, but sliced in half. Instead, it had the effect of ejecting an oyster from its shell, with the steel exterior popped open, and the guts lying intact. Destructive, but disappointing. Then I heard a familiar rumbling, and the piercing horn in the distance. Another train! I quickly put the guts on the track and ducked into a ditch, knowing the conductor could easily see me and the radio if he were looking. I saw a spark from the rail when the steel wheel hit the radio, and it skipped forward. This train was hauling at least 50 coal cars, so I waited for it to pass. In the dark of night, I only recovered some small pieces, so I went back home, intending to return in the morning and find the rest.
The next morning, I only found a few small bits of radio. I followed the tracks toward town, and thought the train might have bounced the radio into the nearby river. But then, there it was, nearly 100 yards from where I placed it! The train had knocked the radio between the rails, tumbling it underneath for all that distance. Little bits broke off along the way, which I picked up. It’s got a nonde5cript chemical smell to it now, perhaps a combination of chemicals from the electronic components, creosote from the railroad ties, and grease from the wheels, courtesy of an automatic greaser up the line from the site.
Now I can conclude that crushing electronics on rails is even more fun than crushing garbage cans or shopping carts. Got an old computer? Put it to use! |
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 | Apr 03, 2005 12:25 am -
why didnt you just sell it???
no fun but would of made money |
 | Apr 03, 2005 12:37 am -
lol........this egg seems kinda pointless......but incredibly detailed......u must have alot of spare time lol........u getta 5 |
 | Apr 03, 2005 12:43 am -
Quote: why didnt you just sell it???
Who would buy an old, non-functional radio from me when a newer, nicely-functional radio can be had from the junkman for $20?
Quote: lol........th s egg seems kinda pointless
Agreed, but aren’t all eggs, and this site, pointless? Hang in there, I’ve got a few better eggs coming. |
 | Apr 03, 2005 1:21 am -
There is traintracks near my house with a perfect bunker next to them. Me and a few friends routinely put refridgerators, diswashers, etc. The biggest things we can find. This is always a good way to waste time. |
 | Apr 03, 2005 10:54 am -
More of a blog than a egg. |
| Dec 18, 2005 8:09 am -
I always thing it’s funny when someone tells a good story in their egg and everyone rushes in to say "it should go in your blog". Why are there categories for this kind of tale, then? Some eggs are so poorly written that even if the idea is really good you can’t understand it at all.
There are lots of eggs about destroying stuff for fun. This is one of the better ones. |
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