Frogs

[traingang]

Anybody out there know why the term "frog" is used for that part of the railroad track which allows passage of the wheels across another? Webster seems to indicate that the words "frog" and "jump" have common roots, but perhaps there is a connection in word usage to the type of frog that has to do with certain fastening devices and their shapes and functions (again see Webster). Submitted by "Traingang."

[edblysard]

Go out to the road, find a run over toad frog, one of the really dried out ones...go to the tracks, find a track frog, compare the two...
Not rocket science after that...

[traingang]

That's the explanation I've got in two corners of Ohio. I really thought there might be some rocket science from Webster which made as much sense, but the roadkill approach seems to be the answer of choice thus far.

[oskar]

Frogs- small,big,medium,road kill and many others but I like edblysard's better




kevin

[mudchicken]

Welcome to the forums, fellow Ohio mudchicken.

Snowman/Uni-Head Ed has it right:

The portion of a turnout or track crossing where wheels cross from one track to another; named because of its resemblance to a frog (animal) -Simmons Boardman Dictionary of Railway Track Terms-page 59

Railway frogs have arms, toes,legs, a crotch, throat, heel,swing noses and get depressed too![(-D][(-D][(-D]

Say hello to your NE OH neighbor, JoeKoh, while on the forums here. Good bunch of folks to hang out with.

[banghead][banghead][banghead]

[tree68]

Whodathunk?

[BR60103]

Check out the bottom of a horse's hoof. There's a lump there called a frog that resembles the RR frog. Should be a diagram in a good dictionary or your sister's horsey books.

[Anonymous]

RR frog? Would that be like Kermit wearing an engineer's hat? [:D]

[eolafan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Michael G. Buettner

Anybody out there know why the term "frog" is used for that part of the railroad track which allows passage of the wheels across another? Webster seems to indicate that the words "frog" and "jump" have common roots, but perhaps there is a connection in word usage to the type of frog that has to do with certain fastening devices and their shapes and functions (again see Webster). Submitted by "Traingang."

Frogs are those pesky and fun loving people from France...Whoops, I think you had a railroad context in mind here, didn't you?

[Mookie]

Another Chicken on the forums?????

Oh Boy! The day is getting better all the time!

[dinner]

[adrianspeeder]

My uncle worked in the bethlem steel frog shop and that was one of his stories, I'll call him and get the one I forgot.

Adrianspeeder

[miniwyo]

Ribbit

[espeefoamer]

All this talk about frogs and roadkill has made me hungry. Gotta run over to the Diner now.[dinner]!

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

You can get really terrific frog legs at Phil Smidt's restaurant on Calumet Avenue, across the tracks from the Hammond-Whiting Amtrak station.

[mudchicken]

Railroad Frog legs for those with a magnesium defficiency or suffering from iron poor tired blood?[swg][swg][swg].....Don't think Matt wants the fries from that place!