Western Railroad Discussion > What is a "Dog Catch"

I got a job at Renzenberger recently and I'm getting up to speed on train nomenclature. On a road trip order the trip type is listed as "Dog Catch - C@O". Does anyone know what this kind of operation this is, and where the term comes from/

Posted from Android

           98% here know I bet.  You will be taking a rested crew out to bring in a train where the crew have run out of service hours. You may also be picking up that crew and bringing them in to the terminal.

Doc885 Wrote:
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> I got a job at Renzenberger recently and I'm
> getting up to speed on train nomenclature. On a
> road trip order the trip type is listed as "Dog
> Catch - C@O". Does anyone know what this kind of
> operation this is, and where the term comes from/

The federal Hours of Service regulation provides that no crew may continue working after 12 hours on duty (it's a little more complex than that, but that's basically it). When the drew runs out of time, the term is dead or dies, they stop on the road somewhere. They must be relieved by another crew (called Dog catch, Patch, Relay, Relief or other terms). The driver will take the new crew from their on duty point to the train and retuen the dead crew to the terminal.

TAW

When a crew goes "dead on the law", ie runs out of time, the crew sent in to replace them is sometimes referred to as a "dog catch" crew.

Sharon Evans
Glen Allen, VA

Thanks for all the replys. I appreciate everyone who helps to get me up to speed. This has been very helpful.

Posted from Android

Damn guys, you could have had some fun with this by suggesting railroad employees volunteer by picking up stray animals.  ;^D

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Also known as Hours of Service Relief or on the SP was and still is called a "patch" or patching a crew. There are probably many names for it around the country. -BMT

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Damn guys, you could have had some fun with this
> by suggesting railroad employees volunteer by
> picking up stray animals.  ;^D

Ted, if a Crew Transport Driver has enough sense to look to sites such as TO for work info, he/she would know when someone is "playing Snipe" on them...

Not the least bit surprising to this railroader that Rezenberger didn't teach this gentleman that term BEFORE he got his first dog catch ticket considering that's going to be a word he hears everyday for the rest of his time at Rezenberger.  Yikes

Railroad terminology is a bit weird. There will be all sorts of new terms that may take you by surprise. Someone else mentioned a crew "going dead". The crew is not actually dead and we are not being callous by just casually talking about it. As has been stated, a dead crew is just one that has ran out of time under federal hours of service laws. 

I have been a Yard Driver for the last three months and yesterday suddenly they were out of manpower for Road Drivers at the Stockton BNSF.  Needless to say, I've got a lot of catching up when it comes to road driver nomenclature.  From what I understand it is typical to get the baptism by fire working here.  Fortunately, I've been around the block in the transportation industry in both over the road and city transit to wit I retired from SJRTD after 25 years doing that gig.  Prior Greyhound/SamTrans.  This is now my pocket change job so that the Mrs. keeps her sanity.  Nuff said. 

70ACE Wrote:
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> funnelfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Damn guys, you could have had some fun with
> this
> > by suggesting railroad employees volunteer by
> > picking up stray animals.  ;^D
>
> Ted, if a Crew Transport Driver has enough sense
> to look to sites such as TO for work info, he/she
> would know when someone is "playing Snipe" on
> them...

I've had a few new hires wondering what "snipe hunting" is.  LOL
Doug

What's the origin of the term?

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Damn guys, you could have had some fun with this
> by suggesting railroad employees volunteer by
> picking up stray animals.  ;^D

I've never believed in initiation rituals. In my booming years, I had many tried on me and I set a lot of guys out for it.

TAW

Tominde Wrote:
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> What's the origin of the term?

:"Dog Catch", or "Snipe Hunt"?

-LD

Or HG relief

Posted from iPhone

I'm going dead right now...

A snipe hunt was (or is) a Boy Scout trick (maybe other groups do it too--I don't know).  When I did it, some young kids (tenderfeet in Scout lingo) were given a burlap bag, put in some remote (but not too remote) location, and told to shine a flashlight into the bag with the promise that a snipe would coming rushing in and they'd catch it.  A snipe is a real bird, but of course you don't hunt in that fashion.  After an hour or so of frustration for the kids you'd come and get them and let them know they'd been tricked.  The trick was so well known that it even became the subject of a Mickey Mouse Club program (saying this shows my age).

How about a "smoke sifter" or a "baffle board" in the Boy Scouts?
 

Snipe Hunt.  Kinda like sending the tenderfoot to campground HQ to ask to borrow the keys to the oar locks,

HQ usually told him they'd been loaned to another camp further up the road and that he should go there and ask for 'em.

=LD