Train Trivia 10/14/05 (ANSWERED)

[Anonymous]

IN RAILROAD SLANG, WHAT DOES A POCATELLO YARDMASTER REFFER TO?

Derisive term for boomers, all of whom presumably claimed to have held, at some time, the tough job of night yardmaster at Pocatello, Idaho

[Anonymous]

I spent a few years attending Idaho State University and I engaged in a lot of train watching there, but I have no idea what a Pocatello Operator is.

[Anonymous]

Back in the old boomer days, a lot of railroaders drifting around the country claimed to have been the Night Yardmaster at Pocatello (for Uncle Pete, I suppose).

It came to be sort of a password among the boomer fraternity . . .

Old Timer

[Anonymous]

It's kind of like being trainmaster on the Lucien Cuttoff.

[Modelcar]

A derisive term for boomers....A job they claimed to have had...a tough job at Pocatello, Idaho.

[tmcc man]

no clue. well off to talk about this with my other railfan/ outdoor model railroading friends at an open house. Will find out, but not spoil it.

[Anonymous]

Derisive term for boomers, all of whom presumably claimed to have held, at some time, the tough job of night yardmaster at Pocatello, Idaho

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jarubel

It's kind of like being trainmaster on the Lucien Cuttoff.

The reason I said this is because I recently read a story called "The Yardmasters Story" from the August 1939 issue of Railroad Magazine. In the story a boomer in telling the yardmaster his qualifications, stated that he had been night yardmaster in Pocatello and trainmaster on the Lucien Cutoff. It then says that a boomer is not competant unless he claims to have held these two positions.