Firelock76 Euclid What about the term, engineman? I believe that term was used by, and probably not eclusively by, the Pennsylvania Railroad. Most likely to differentiate between a man who ran a locomotive and a civil engineer who built the 'road or a mechanical engineer who designed the equipment.
Euclid What about the term, engineman?
What about the term, engineman?
I believe that term was used by, and probably not eclusively by, the Pennsylvania Railroad. Most likely to differentiate between a man who ran a locomotive and a civil engineer who built the 'road or a mechanical engineer who designed the equipment.
A quick glance at a few pre-GCOR era rule books show many used "engineman" or "enginemen" for some rules or section headings.
Jeff
Ulrich...understands the term to mean the person who operates the locomotive.
Well, mostly. You'd be surprised how many parents tell their kids that I'm the guy driving the train - when I'm the conductor in full regalia...
As we've discussed before, the press doesn't have a clue, either...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
In the Chicago area, the union locals that represent operators of cranes, front end loaders, pavers, bulldozers, etc. are affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers and the members of those locals are referred to as such.
Maybe we should look towards the construction trades for clarification. People who run bulldozers, cranes, excavators, etc are referred to as operators. The term "driver" doesn't really fit as well as operator does in those cases, and I think the same could be said for train driver. But then again "locomotive engineer" has been in use for so long that I think everyone, at least in North America, understands the term to mean the person who operates the locomotive.
daveklepper In addition to engineer, engineman, and driver, don't forget the popular use of the word motorman for the engineer/driver of a rapid transit train, and operator, for a streetcar motorman. Montreal Tramways motorman had caps labeled "Guard du Motour." In Israel, legacy of the British Mandate means engineers are drivers or each one is a Nahag, pluril Nahagim. Feminin, Naheget or Nahaga, plurel Nahagot.
In addition to engineer, engineman, and driver, don't forget the popular use of the word motorman for the engineer/driver of a rapid transit train, and operator, for a streetcar motorman.
Montreal Tramways motorman had caps labeled "Guard du Motour."
In Israel, legacy of the British Mandate means engineers are drivers or each one is a Nahag, pluril Nahagim. Feminin, Naheget or Nahaga, plurel Nahagot.
Johnny
Puget Sound Electric had "Motorneers".
From the B-17 son: on a B-17 (or B-24?), he was the bombardier; on a Halifax or Lancaster, he was the bomb aimer.
Or the locating engineer who laid out the line and did the initial surveys.
Going off topic. Page 47 of the Engineers handbook has a questions concerning the Great Lakes. Interesting to see that Lake St. Clair is listed as one of the Great Lakes.
Thank you!
https://books.google.com/books?id=GIlJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=true
That's fascinating - three separate terms, including 'driver' in an unguarded moment!
Now find and post the Franklin Institute's report on the Richmond explosion, which did not let the Norris firm off the hook quite as easily...
Deggesty Uh-oh. I never did learn how to extract cube roots. All the roots I extracted were either square or round.
Uh-oh. I never did learn how to extract cube roots. All the roots I extracted were either square or round.
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
DeggestyI never did learn how to extract cube roots.
Looking at the description printed in that handbook, I thought of how this famous author (and mathematics teacher) might have 'elucidated' it:
In base eight, of course, the second time around.
JPS1What is the origin of calling the operating of a locomotive in the U.S. the engineer? Why not the driver?
"Driver" is the more etymologically "correct" term, by analogy from stagecoaching (where, for example, we get "hostler") if the person concerned is primarily operating the locomotive to get over the road, do the usual 'maintenance things' needed to run it safely, pull the analogue of the kingpin trick as Mr. Robinson did, etc.
As soon as more complex operations are required, like taking down a bad main rod and blocking the valves to get the train over the road, you get into a different category... BUT I have long been of the opinion that "engineer" is a euphemism for a higher class of achievement; making out that operating a steam engine is more complicated and professional than 'just' driving a coach (having been to school at Farmington I can tell you it's as complicated or more to actually drive four-in-hand well with an inexperienced team as it is to operate the most complex road locomotive.) There is a not-quite-false analogy to terms like 'sanitary engineer' that give you a sense of the professionalistic inflation.
Interesting that the term for a freight 'driver' -- "teamster" -- survives for trucker's unions, but never applied to freight-locomotive operators.
Indeed it is two peoples divided by a common language ... but, perhaps even more than that, it's drift in the 'commonly accepted' term used for something in a society. We don't call music cassettes "compact cassettes" but we call the follow-on optical storage "compact discs" ... and then the fixed version of magnetic computer storage is called a hard disk with the "K".
Semper Vaporo Very early on he was the mechanical "engineer" who knew how the engine worked and was thus the one most qualified to operate it. The title stuck when others were trained to do the job.
Very early on he was the mechanical "engineer" who knew how the engine worked and was thus the one most qualified to operate it. The title stuck when others were trained to do the job.
Makes sense! Thanks!
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
In the fire service, the guy behind the wheel is sometimes called the engineer, and sometimes the chauffeur. And in some places, what we now call the fire chief was known as the chief engineer.
Considering the steam engines used for pumping at one period, it's possible the term "engineer" made the jump from the railroads. I haven't researched it.
The folks who work on fixed power equipment are often known as stationary engineers, and at see, the power people on ships are often known as marine engineers.
Always find it ironic that in Britian he's the driver, in America he's the engineer. There: guard, here: conductor. There: engineer, here: mechanic or machinist. What we have here are two peoples separated by a common language.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
In Australia, New Zealand, UK, etc. the person who operates a railroad locomotive is called a driver. In the U.S. he or she is the engineer.
What is the orgin of calling the operating of a locomotive in the U.S. the engineer? Why not the driver?
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