The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Yeah, this post gets a little excessive, but… Hey Now… it was my birthday – and CSX just kept on keeping on… so…

#5220 was the first CSX train that hurtled past the Sly Fox Brewery in Pittsburgh, on a late August evening. It was a very, very good evening for trains despite it being a Saturday night. Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself were in the company of friends, including our out of town guests whom we had ridden the tourist bus with the day before. Fun.

5220 is apparently a GE ES44DC ‘evolution series’ model locomotive.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

#3397, a GE ET44AH model locomotive, appeared next. It too is a GE Evolution Series locomotive, but seems to be a different model than the previous one. I think we can guess where the CSX people like to shop.

Me? I like to think about Superman… so, I asked a computer to do the math on what the physical reality of Superman stopping a speeding train might entail, so via Google’s AI:

Newton’s First Law: The law of inertia 

• The train is in motion and will remain in motion at a constant velocity unless an unbalanced external force acts upon it.
• The immense mass of the train gives it a tremendous amount of inertia.
• Superman’s role is to act as the unbalanced external force that overcomes the train’s inertia and brings it to a halt. 

Newton’s Second Law: Force, mass, and acceleration 

• The fundamental equation for stopping the train is F=m×a𝐹=𝑚×𝑎.
• Force (F): Superman must apply an immense force in the direction opposite to the train’s motion. This force must be greater than the train’s accelerating force and other resistive forces like rolling friction.
• Mass (m): A train has a massive amount of mass, which means a very large force is required to change its velocity. For example, a large freight train could weigh 10 million kg.
• Acceleration (a): A negative acceleration, or deceleration, is the goal. For a safe stop, this deceleration must be gradual to prevent injury to the passengers. A safe stop would have a small negative acceleration spread over a longer time and distance. 

Newton’s Third Law: Action-reaction 

• For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• As Superman pushes on the train to stop it (the action), the train exerts an equal and opposite force back on Superman (the reaction).
• For a normal human, this equal and opposite force would be devastating. Superman’s durability and strength allow him to withstand this reaction force, unlike a normal person, who would be crushed instantly. 

Conservation of energy 

• A speeding train possesses a large amount of kinetic energy, which is defined by the formula KE=12mv2𝐾𝐸=12𝑚𝑣2. The enormous mass and velocity result in a colossal amount of energy that must be dissipated.
• Superman must perform work to remove this kinetic energy from the train. Work is defined as force multiplied by the distance over which the force is applied (W=F×d𝑊=𝐹×𝑑).
• The longer the distance Superman takes to stop the train, the less force he has to apply at any given moment. This is why a gradual stop is safer, as it dissipates the energy over a longer period and distance, lessening the strain on both the train and its passengers. 

Realistic versus fantastical scenarios 

• Fantastical “Brute Force” Stop: If Superman were to instantly stop the train by standing in front of it, the physics would be catastrophic. The sudden, near-instantaneous change in momentum would exert a massive, bone-crushing force on the passengers. The train itself would likely be ripped apart, sending cars and debris flying and derailing the train. The pressure on the tracks would be unbearable, causing them to fracture.
• Physically Responsible Stop: To stop the train safely, Superman would act as a massive braking force behind or in front of the train, applying a steady, constant force over a long distance. By pushing against the train and the tracks, he could dissipate its kinetic energy gradually, mimicking a safe, controlled braking process. This would prevent violent jolting and structural failure, safeguarding the passengers. Superman’s fictional abilities allow him to perform this feat in a way that is impossible for a real-world object. 

– photo by Mitch Waxman

#3000 is a GE ES44AC-H locomotive engine, yet another variant in the Evolution series (linked to above). All of these trains were moving east/southeast along the Monongahela River and ‘away from Ohio.’ I’ve got limited experiences regarding Ohio, but leaving it seems like a good option for anyone or anything. Blech.

I asked the same computer, at Google, what it knew about freight traffic and volume along these subdivision tracks and the machine said:

• Company-wide average: In 2024, CSX reported an overall volume increase of 2% and an average of 1,848 trains operated per day across its entire network.
• Nearby operations: For perspective on rail traffic in the Pittsburgh area, Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line is reported to handle between 50 and 70 trains daily. While this is not CSX traffic, it illustrates the high density of rail activity in the region.
• General freight types: The CSX Keystone Subdivision, which runs between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Maryland, carries a variety of freight traffic, including intermodal, grain, coal, and mixed freight. It also hosts Amtrak’s Capitol Limited passenger service. 

– photo by Mitch Waxman

#815 appeared next, moving westerly towards Ohio, and it’s yet another GE ES44AC-H model locomotive engine.

This is the juncture where I feel the need to restate that I’m not a ‘railfan’ other than that I like taking pictures of trains. It’s important to me that actual railfans don’t think I’m trying to sound intelligent while pooping on their parade or something when mentioning that ‘I don’t care if the wrong screw is holding one of those lights on.’ I’m learning all of this rail stuff on the fly, and ultimately I’m seeking a cool shot rather than just indexing things in an encyclopedic manner. Nerding out on something esoteric is enjoyable to me, but that’s not where I’m going with all this. I’m ignorant, largely, of this nerdom phyla and I’m just trying to puncture that.

I see cool things, take pictures of them, then write about what I saw.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

#7289 was next. I was unable to find anything reliable to tell you about its model or make, but it seems I’ve photographed it before in this post from 2024.

The evening was starting to wrap up. We had all drank our fill of beers, and it was time to start thinking about food. As mentioned, it was my birthday, which I always try to keep simple. If the universe is going to ‘eff with you, or me in particular, it’s going to be on your own personal holiday. That’s my history, at least.

Also, it was the anniversary of the Pittsburgh incident of 1968.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

We gathered ourselves up, summoned rideshare vehicles to carry us back to HQ, and had a bite to eat back there. Moe the Dog was very pleased with the situation as he was able to purloin table scraps. He’s an odd dog, I should mention – as he likes bananas and broccoli. We generally don’t serve those two things on the same plate, as a note.

Back tomorrow.

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