Broken Hill - The Coin

A coin? How trite! I'm not even sure I give a shit. Part 2 of my Broken Hill Odyssey. Summary side note! Sorry (Not really) but these are factual blogs, and not my, laugh a minute, MS paint-shopped picture blogs. Sometimes a story just needs to be written in stone. No matter how shit and boring. Facts. Fuck facts! Learning is for wankers!

The Coin.

Being so close to the train line, and seeing freight trains motoring up and down the line gave a few of us the idea that we should put a coin on the tracks to see what happens. I've never considered doing it before, but it seems like one of those things you just do in your life. Like shoot a person, or shit on someone's chest for sexual pleasure.

One morning we walked along the line and had a coin waiting, but a train never came. Every time we'd hear one back at the house, it was too far to run in time, it was only about 100m, but you had to run around a fence and smash through some shrubs. We had to wait for the right moment...

The shrubs around there are fucking dangerous. Honestly. Everything has spines or pricks or barbs. Australia really is a harsh mother fucker. Deadly snakes, spiders, jelly fish, sharks, even ants can fuck your shit up. Then flora, not wanting to be outdone by her brother, fauna, gets in on the act. Running for safety from a tsunami of dangerous animals is no use, the plants lie in wait. Aboriginals must have had steel capped feet to walk around here.

Koalas, deadly. And apparently offensive too. 

One morning we picked up some year 9 kids from the local high school. They were going to be working with us on sciencey things. Cool things, like digging holes and looking busy. Then after that is complete, more sciencey stuff like wearing latex gloves, probing water and washing everything constantly. There's nothing more sciencey than keeping everything clean enough to see your reflection. Science!

So my group were only a few metres from the train line on some dudes property about 10km out of town on the Perth bound line. We drove as far as the dirt road could take us before we walked our gear another couple of hundred metres.

We were separated into four groups of five, us at 10m, another at 50m, 100m and 150m from the track. All the kids were working with the other groups as they were not in danger of a derailing train. The land was rising away from the line. So the group at 150m was about ten metres higher than we were. Basically, everyone was in an elevated position to watch the show...

This is exactly what it was like

Enough intro, get to the coin already!

So, not only had my lecturer told me, but the group instructor, and the guy who 'inducted' us to the site, "DO NOT GO WITHIN THREE METRES OF THE TRAIN LINE."

Haha, lol, whatever man!

In the middle of digging I heard that rushing noise of a freight train approaching, my ears flicked up like a dog, it was pretty hilarious. Another group member and I started ripping our gloves off to find the coin we had set aside. It's in my pocket! Fuck yeah!

Here it comes! Here it comes!

So I sprinted towards the track and looked to my right to see a freight train barrelling down towards me. The tracks were raised above the land about a metre and it's deceivingly hard to climb up over the gravel. But I was able to take a big lung and just get my hand to place the coin on the rail. I pushed myself back away from the tracks and took a few steps back as old mate train driver blew his horn. I turned back towards everyone and my lecturer was also, barrelling down the hill towards me.

Everyone was cheering except my instructor and lecturer. The train ran over the coin and the driver continued to blow his horn. Everyone had their arms in the air and cheered in victory. I retuned to my group laughing about how awesome it was. My lecturer spoke to my instructor for about two seconds to confirm it was ME that had just done that. Oh shit...

I walked to him and he let loose on my like a cut snake. He was so mad, his face was red. I don't think I've even coped a spray like that from my dad! He told me to go back to the vehicles as I would not be participating any more. I was still brimming from my achievement however and only my dust mask kept that smile from furthering his rage. Far below is graphical re-enactment of my lecturer as I ran towards the tracks.

I walked the walk of shame and sat in the shade of the van while everyone else dug in lead contaminated dirt in the hot sun. Suckers.

After about 30 minutes, everyone finished and returned to the vehicles. A few shared a laugh with me and some were just jealous that I got to sit in the shade.

I was to be talked to when we got back to the accommodation. Shit just got real.