Railroad language has a tradition of being terse.
Paul of Covington Highball is a verb.
Highball is a verb.
zardoz Paul of Covington Highball is a verb. Unless you make it with whiskey.
Unless you make it with whiskey.
Overmod Better not make ANYTHING with whiskey on railroad property, however. This is railroad vernacular, not bartending vernacular.
"See those rich folks sittin' in that fancy dinin' car
They're prob'ly drinkin' whiskey and smokin' big cigars...."
Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash
Bucyrus Railroad language has a tradition of being terse.
Johnny
Another one: doll mast.
John WR "See those rich folks sittin' in that fancy dinin' car They're prob'ly drinkin' whiskey and smokin' big cigars...."
But are they employees on duty, or even railroad management personnel on duty? I doubt it.
Remember this is railroaders' vernacular we're talking about, not passenger vernacular (like using 'George' for the porter... ;-} )
'Think before you strike', as Smokey used to say)
Deggesty Another one: doll mast.
Doll mast???
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
I'm sure the song refers to railroad passengers and really doesn't go beyond that.
But doesn't "railroad vernacular" include things that passengers would say too if they are talking about riding a train? When I say "I used to catch the 6:35 Clocker at Princeton Junction" am I using railroad vernacular or not?
Paul, at times it was advisable to locate a block signal at a point which had at least one non-signaled track between the signal and the track which was signaled. To show that the signal was not for the track(s) immediately beside the signal, a short mast for each such un-signaled track was attached to the right side to the signal mast; such a mastmay have had a blue light (no connection at all with the blue flag that says "do not touch these cars") at its top. Some railroads called it a "bracket."
The first doll mast I remember seeing was in Charlotte, N.C., in December, 1953, by the nb signal which was on the north side of Trade street. I asked a Southern employee what it meant, and he (not knowing himself) answered that it meant a train was coming. I have a vague memory of seeing another somewhere else. Carl Shaver commented, on another thread, that he saw one in the Eastern Terirtory a few years ago.
I thought someone would ask about quartering main drivers, but apparently all who have followed this thread know what and why the process is.
Deggesty Bucyrus Railroad language has a tradition of being terse. Yes, especially when communicating by Morse code, even when using a bug.
"Bug" is also used by hams for the Vibroplex keys.
Now that I think about it, as others have suggested, the terse nature of railroad language probably was indeed shaped by the limitations of the telegraph. It was the tweeting of the day. When you think about it, train orders were pretty terse.
On DC's and my railroad, that terse telegraph language, was called "Kans-eese". (Cat need fixed, car needs repaired)
John WRBut doesn't "railroad vernacular" include things that passengers would say too if they are talking about riding a train? When I say "I used to catch the 6:35 Clocker at Princeton Junction" am I using railroad vernacular or not?
People can use all the jargon they want. This is America. No one will come haul you off if you get 'salty' and use terms like "physics package" or "prompt excursion" -- on the other hand, it does not prove you work in the field when you do.
Passengers, no matter how well they use the railroad vernacular, do not become railroaders when they do. Not even Rogers E.M. Whittaker. (And a good thing too! I hear Clegg and Beebe saying, as they pour another one back in the private car...)
RME
Paul of Covington Deggesty Another one: doll mast. Doll mast???
Doll Mast, Doll Post, Doll Arm.
If there's 3 tracks, and only 2 are signalled, a doll post would represent the 3rd unsignalled track.
Brad
EMD - Every Model Different
ALCO - Always Leaking Coolant and Oil
CSX - Coal Spilling eXperts
Thanks, Johnny & Brad. I'd never heard of them.
Some pictures of doll signals.
http://www.railroadsignals.us/signals/dolls/index.htm
Jeff
Here's a few more: Flying switch, jerk it by , drop it by, high daddy. These terms all refer to the now, almost universaly prohibited practice of slinging a car from behind the engine into a facing point siding. Or, how about poling a car? Definately against the rules, now! We also used to say "take 20" or 20 minutes, refering to the allowed lunch period for yard jobs. Of course a man who works primarily yard jobs is a "yard bird". You don't carry a suitcase on the railroad. It's a grip. 12 hours puts you on the law, or you hoglaw or perhaps you "die" at some time or location. You "mark off" to take yourself "off the board", when you "mark back up" the crew caller will tell you your first out (or second or sixth out) with nothin' showing. A dwarf signal is not intended as an insult to a vertically challenged signal. What terms are not unique might be easier!
OvermodPassengers, no matter how well they use the railroad vernacular, do not become railroaders when they do. Not even Rogers E.M. Whittaker.
Bob,
I don't want to trespass on sacred ground. However, it seems reasonable to point out that some railroaders are passengers and some passengers are railroaders.
John
I was a railroader, I understand what you're saying but I don't fully agree. I can't remember one conversation I ever had with a trackside observer that didn't eventually result with the fan to say something so outrageous that it would either make me laugh and, in one occasion, told him he'd best get off the property, because he had told me something so outrageous, so showing in lack of any operational knowledge, that I couldn't believe it. Perhaps you'll think my remarks harsh but that was my experience.
Having said that, I remember many who were little more than passengers but most of them didn't make a long term career out of it, they washed out or were shown the door for one reason or another.
Jeff, thanks for the illustrations of doll masts, doll posts, or whatever the individual roads call them.
And, we have rabbits and frogs--two main types of frogs; one type is split into two subtypes.
I remember reading somewhere (probably in the pages of our hosts somewhere) "Jerkwater Town". Way Back When, a town that was so small that the railroad didn't deem it large enough for a water tower, a passing train needing to take on water might stop and "Jerk water" from a nearby creek. It is my guess the jerk referred to yanking a bucket up with a rope, though in some cases it might refer to the one doing the pulling. Some short lines equipped the tenders with a pump (or so I'm told).
Drag -- slow freight train
Dog -- another slow freight train, usually unable to make it across the division before going on the law
Dogcatch -- crew called to relieve the dog that died on line
Had a old gandy once tell me a story about a PI (personal Injury) requiring a hospital visit, the admitting nurse asked him what was wrong and he told her "I was cuttin' the nuts of'n a frog and a piece flew up in my eye". Took a while to explain that one to her....
Brass or Suits - RR officials
Go to beans - head to the beanery (cafe)
Peddler - local or way freight
Ballast scorcher - fast running engineman
Shack - brakeman
Lightning slinger - telegrapher
Gandy dancer - section hand
Telltales - what was their correct name?
Foamer - overly enthusiastic railfan
Diamond - rail crossing
Board - semaphore signal
Wipe the clock or bighole - emergency brake application
Join the birds - jump off the engine before a collision
Hot box - Overheated journal bearing (waste and oil on fire)
Knuckle - drawbar
Ride the rods - hobo
Teakettle - old locomotive
Throttle jerker - engineer
By the way I never knew of a railroader to say "cabeese". I think it is a term coined by railfans.
A Jerkwater town was a place where the train did NOT stop to take on water, but rather took it on the fly from the track pans. They lowered the scoop and jerked the water from the pan into the tender. This was done at about 40 mph. When the tender was full, it sloshed out of the back vents to the discomfiture of any hobo riding behind the tender. At this point he usually fell off and died.
FOAMER-- Was used long before rail fans were a problem. It was a steam engine with foam in the boiler such as it could not get up a good head of steam.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Maybe I missed them earlier, but how about:
In the hole - waiting on a passing siding
dark territory - unsignalled main track.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
BroadwayLionA Jerkwater town was a place where the train did NOT stop to take on water, but rather took it on the fly from the track pans.
Both the bucket brigade and the track pan "definitions" seem to have validity per a search I just did. However, one find on the web search included the info that "jerkwater" was not a railroad term - it was a literary description. That may or may not be true in and of itself.
Apparently, though, there was the term "tank town."
One wonders how many people who saw the title of the Steven Segal movie understood the origins of "dark territory," rather than thinking it was a term of foreboding...
The track pan overflow issue for "riders" was apparently worse in the winter, where they might be able to hang on, but would, of course, be drenched and later be found frozen in place.
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...
Here is one defintion of the term. Like a lot of slang, there is overlap and gray area:
JERK A DRINK—Take water from track pan without stopping train. From this came the word jerkwater, which usually means a locality serving only to supply water to the engines of passing trains; a Place other than a regular stop, hence of minor importance as jerkwater town, jerkwater college, etc.
John WR I don't want to trespass on sacred ground. However, it seems reasonable to point out that some railroaders are passengers and some passengers are railroaders.
No trespassing against others here. However, there is still the point that there is not supposed to be any drinking on duty. I do not know whether 'deadheading' railroaders were expected to refrain from imbibing, but the general rule in many lines of business is that 'you're an ambassador of sorts (and not an embarrassador) for your company, and would be expected to show your high qualities and responsibility whenever in the public eye...
I would suspect there is No Alcohol Tolerated in crew dorms, even when the crewmembers in question are not 'engaged to be waiting'.
Now, railroaders who happen to be passengers on their own time -- they're no different from other passengers except they are much more likely to be knowledgeable than other passengers, and more interesting. But they are not on duty at that time, and presumably won't be marking on or subject to call in the immediate future...
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