According to the 1857 rulebook

[BRAKIE]

Guys When I started braking on the PRR we RODE the TOPS of cars to relay hand signals to the engineer when making a reverse move..You guys (You to Jenny)recall seeing tale-tells before bridges and other low clearances? Well one of there duties in life was to smack the brakeman to warn him of a low overhead clearance ahead if he wasn't paying attention when riding the tops of the cars.The brakeman would then stoop or lay flat on top of the car..Another dangerous job on the railroad at one time was that of a hump rider..A hump rider would ride the car down the hump and keep the speed of the car in check by using the hand brake and would apply more brakes before the cars was about to couple..Ifyou misjudge you could be thrown from the car and killed when the cars bang together for a coupling.You see you had no place to go except between the cars.

[Mookie]

Brakie: I am not going to be able to say this in correct terminology, but we have a hump yard that is a bowl. We only had one bridge over the yards and it was so high up, they could have stacked the brakemen up pretty high and still cleared the bridge. Other than that - I can't think of any bridges they would have to be careful of - at least here in Lincoln. So were those indicaters the pole with the (here we go again people) string thingies hanging down? I hadn't even thought to ask what those were, but have seen them in pictures and mostly in the movies! The light dawns! And when I was growing up, we could hear them hump cars at the house - about 5-6 miles away - sounded sometimes like they were setting off dynamite! I know they eventually had "retarders", but don't know when they finally put those in.

Jen

Jen

[Mookie]

MO: Just between you and me of course - Are you really going and are you really going to wear a black hat with a feather?

Mookie

[Anonymous]

Jen, I don't even watch THEM. But I suppose I can allow Mookie a few exceptions.

[Mookie]

Mookie would be pleased! And that is right up there with tuna juice on her cat food!

Jen