what is hostling locomotive?
C. Hostling LocomotiveMultiple locomotive consists may be moved within a terminal areawith only the brake pipe connected under these conditions:• Distance traveled does not exceed 2 miles.• Speed does not exceed 10 MPH.When starting movement with only the brake pipe connected:1. At a speed of 1 to 3 MPH, apply the automatic brake by makinga 10 psi brake pipe reduction. Make sure the brakes apply.2. After stopping, release the automatic brake and make sure allbrakes release.
From the Glossary on this site
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I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
You've mistaken the gerund form of a verb (to hostle) for an adjective.
To hostle - to move a locomotive or locomotives within the confines of a service facility, to spot for service/maintenance or to move to a ready track after service/maintenance.
The over-the-road engine crew was off-duty as soon as the train arrived at its destination. Getting the newly-arrived locomotives moved from the train to the fuel rack (or coaling station/water crane/ash pit) and then to the outbound ready track was, and is, the job of the hostler.
The actual root of the word hostle refers to handling horses in a stable or yard...
Chuck
The term "hostler" is a bit older than railroading. It had a long term use to describe a person who handled horses at an inn or stage station, changing horses and moving them between a stable and where they were needed immediately. When the need arose for someone to move locomotives locally (as Dschmitt described), the term was applied to the person whose qualification was that he knew how to control the locomotive in that situation--but was not necessarily qualified to operate an engine on the road. And, in time, the term could be applied to an engine (with a hostler in charge) that is used to move another engine locally.
Johnny
Never knew the term Hostler applied to horse handling, though it makes perfect sense.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Balt, I did not know your education had been neglected.
Any work (novel or fact) that treats travel by coaches in the 19th century or earlier probably has mention of hostlers handling the horses at places where the horses were changed. It was only natural that when railroads began using men to move locomotives within a terminal that the same term would be applied such men. In some works set in England, they may be called "'ostlers."
Deggesty Balt, I did not know your education had been neglected. Any work (novel or fact) that treats travel by coaches in the 19th century or earlier probably has mention of hostlers handling the horses at places where the horses were changed. It was only natural that when railroads began using men to move locomotives within a terminal that the same term would be applied such men. In some works set in England, they may be called "'ostlers."
I don't read much in the way of 18th or 19th Century liturature.
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