Chilled Iron Resonance

I walked past the siding into the open repair yard behind the depot. Propped against a wooden bumper sat a massive cast-iron train axle with two solid freight wheels attached, completely unbolted and resting on timber ties. I unslung my electric guitar and pressed the headstock's bare maple edge flush against the chilled rim of the heavy steel wheel. I pulled an old hexagonal lug nut from my pocket and wedged it tight between the wound fourth string and the bridge saddle to kill any bright attack. When I plucked the deadened wire with my thumb, the strike traveled straight through the wood into the solid iron wheel. The huge mass absorbed the note and pushed out a low, deep subterranean chime that hummed through the timber under my boots. I clamped my palm across the fretboard to kill the vibration clean.