Railroaders' Nostalgia > "Vocabulary of Railroad Lingo"

A couple days ago 'Ozolian' posted a thread; "Classifications and Definitions" which brought back memories
of the late Freeman Hubbard, longtime editor of Railroad Magazine. For those not old enough to remember,
according to one on-line source "Railroad Magazine" began life in 1906, during the heyday of the 'pulp's',
as "The Railroad Man's Magazine". It contained serial articles--some with drawing illustrations, short stories,
poetry and monthly articles of interest to working railroaders. Over the years it was absorbed, (1919 by The Argosy), 
reappeared as Railroad Stories in the early 1930's and later in the decade as simply Railroad Magazine.
 
In 'seniority', Railroad far outranked upstart Trains by 34 years and always seemed, to me, to have a more earthy appeal
with its monthly fiction stories by such authors as 'Haywire Mac"--Harry McClintok, Harry Bedwell--author of the 
Eddie Sand stories and others. It was in these monthly doses of fiction that I was first exposed to much of the lingo I would
later experience in the real world of my railroad career.
 
In 1945 Mr. Hubbard published his book "Railroad Avenue". The last chapter, entitled "Vocabulary Of Railroad Lingo",
contained 36 pages, 700 words or terms, 'lingo', heard and used around the railroad. Freeman Hubbard organized
and presented railroad lingo to his readers to illustrate or reveal a 'special-interest' sub-language that once was.

As an example; a hoghead, hogger, hogmaster, hogineer, hog jockey, hog eye, grunt, pig-mauler, etc. are all terms used to identify
the person running the locomotive but do most know that a hog was the locomotive the engineer ran? Or that "Hoghead is
said to have originated on the D&RGW in 1887, being used to label a brakeman's caricature of an engineer." This is one of the more 
lengthy entries.
 
It occurs to me that many readers here on TO's might, over a structured period of time, enjoy reading these terms, many of which
I never heard used and remain a mystery to me. Many of these words I did hear and use in my 51 year railroad experience but I
know that most are not being used in the current world of railroading. From a historical perspective, I mourn the loss of this 'colorful' part
of railroading but also realize that there are perils, mainly in a safety context, involved in the use of 'lingo' or 'slang' and cannot be
tolerated in work-a-day operations. Still, 'lingo' or 'slang' remain a part of all our lives and is used daily by all. 

So, with that said, how best to present this topic? Should I post them in alphabetical order with, say, a few in each posting; this to allow 
the reader to comment?  I'll wait a few days before the first installment to allow input. Be assured, I won't post all of them in one gulp.
Looking forward to this; it will be fun.

Charlie

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/21 13:54 by cewherry.

Outstanding!  I wil look forward to you posts.  A few at a time would be my
preference.

James Somerville
Anchorage, AK

Your participation in preserving the fabric and rich lingo of railroading past is greatly appreciated. A few at a time sounds great. It's always good to "take some slack and oil around ".
Paul

When I worked on the Delaware and Hudson 51 years ago, dwarf signals were universally referred to as "bugs."

Art House

Interesting!

Charlie, sounds like great fun.  A few at a time, but I wouldn't woory so much about alphabet, maybe the ones you used most? 
Your definitions will be great, as well as the comments that will doubtless appear.
Didn't Railroad Magazine also publish a poem, 'The Track Walker?' 

Lookng forward to some fun content.
Roy

Given how localized most railroad lingo seemed to be this could be a monster project.
Good luck in your endeavor sir.

Sounds like fun

in some cases the meaning completely changed given the context:
quit/ to quit/ a quit,  a switch, give them a switch to switch.
 

boxcar1954 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charlie, sounds like great fun.  A few at a time,
> but I wouldn't woory so much about alphabet, maybe
> the ones you used most? 
> Your definitions will be great, as well as the
> comments that will doubtless appear.
> Didn't Railroad Magazine also publish a poem, 'The
> Track Walker?' 

Roy, I don't know if a poem called 'The Track Walker' appeared in Railroad but an essay with the same title is part of The Project Gutenberg ebook
"The Color of a Great City, by Theodore Dreiser.  The essay has a heavy railroad theme. It may be the same; maybe not.
See: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/61043/61043-h/61043-h.htm#ch_14

Charlie
 

Well, it appears there's a 'healthy' interest in the subject and it's not like I needed to be begged but with
such 'high-horsepower' urging me on; look for the first installment on your 'electric' newsstands soon.

Only problem is, and it really is a problem; where to start? I feel like a kid in the candy store, so much to 
choose from. Maybe I'll tape the 36 pages up on a wall, blindfold myself and throw darts. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Charlie

 

When I hired out, everyone in my conductor class was issued a book titled, "Railroad Terminology & Jargon." It was not long after my class they stopped giving the book out because none of the conductors that came a year after me had seen it. This post reminded me of it so I checked my old locker in the yard and found it.

Posted from Android

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like fun
>
> in some cases the meaning completely changed given
> the context:
> quit/ to quit/ a quit,  a switch, give them a
> switch to switch.

Hi Mike.
Actually, 'quit' is not on this list of 700. Maybe something synonymous will crop up. 
I know that it was a daily pursuit on any 'quit' job. 

Charlie
 

I've seen newspaper articles that delved into what various foods are known by around the country.

Is a vaguely tubular sandwich  consisting of cold cuts and cheese on a long, rounded piece of bread a "hero"?  A sub? A grinder?

Similar comparisons around the country (and Canada) would be most interesting.  

What do you call extra locomotives attached to a train to assist over a relatively short section of steep grades?  Pushers?  Helpers?  Shoves?

What's that boxy thing that used to be attached to the rear end of trains?  Kind of a human powered EOT device.  Was that a caboose, a van, a hack, a cabin?

CSX has an online dictionary of terms.   Railroad Dictionary - CSX.com

John

As Casey Stengel would say:

"Just line 'em up alphabetically, according to their height!"

Lance/199

Kudos and thank you to whomever coined "cabeese."

Bring "em on, oh former partner in crime!

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO

Charlie, I would really like to see the arcane and mysterious rail terms that baffle.

Rich

Lurch_in_ABQ Wrote:
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> Kudos and thank you to whomever coined "cabeese."

I don't think any one person thunk it....instead it is a logical (if false) progression from singular to plurar by employing the rule for goose/geese.....of course no such rule applies to caboose...but is sounds good...so why not use it? English is an organic language that evolves....