Railroaders' Nostalgia > Monday morning railroad 'slang'

And then there was...

BIG HOLE---Freeman Hubbard described this as: "Emergency application of train brakes, causing a quick stop."

                  When I was studying to take my engineer examination I was given books that showed how pressurized air
                   is used apply brakes on locomotives and cars. A study of these books and their piping diagrams revealed
                   a system of passages, cavities and ports--one of which was physically much larger than any other.
                   It was this largest of ports; the "Big Hole" that played the key role in transmitting the pneumatic signal to
                   each car to apply its brake fully in "Emergency", thereby stopping the train in the shortest distance.
                   (Many years later, in conversation with a supervisor on the railroad I was then employed by, the supervisor 
                   revealed that there was a widely held belief by his peers in the lower ranks of management that such terms
                   as "big hole", "angle cock" and "bleed" were being used by operating crews as a sort of secret code to hide
                   an arcane plot to disrupt operations. Too bad. The supervisors were wrong.)

LIGHTNING SLINGER, BRASS POUNDER---Telegraph operator. I never heard these terms used at my work; only in accounts in 
                   the pages of fiction or non-fiction publications. By the 1960's telegraph operations on the SP were, I believe, history
                   but I believe I've read accounts that telegraph transmittal of train orders lasted somewhere in North America into the 60's.
                   Others can confirm or deny. 

POPS---Retainers. Used on freight cars and, I've read, most passenger cars to restrict or retain an amount of air pressure, once placed
            in the brake cylinder(s) by the control valve on each car. 

EDIT: Oops, didn't mean to omit the term "Pops" when referring to safety valves on steam locomotive boilers. I suppose volumes could/have
          been written on their role in railroad operations. 
            
TELLTALE---Any device that serves as a warning, specifically the row of strips hanging down a short distance in front of a tunnel or
                   low bridge to inform trainmen who are riding car tops that they'd better duck.

TIE 'EM DOWN---Set handbrakes.

DANCING ON THE CARPET---Called to an official's office for investigation or discipline.

EAGLE EYE---Locomotive Engineer.

DOGCATCHERS---Crew sent out to relieve another that has been outlawed--that is, overtaken on the road by the
                             sixteen-hour, (now twelve hour), law, which is variously known as dog law, hog law and pure-food law.

BALLAST SCORCHER---Speedy engineer.

CORNERED---When a car, not in the clear of adjacent track, is struck by a train or engine.

Charlie (my term)



  



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/21 12:59 by cewherry.

And the fact that RR “management” didn’t even know that Angle Cock is the actual name of a piece of equipment or what the action of bleeding a car is tells you all you need to know about Modern Railroading in the USA. ☹️

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cewherry Wrote:
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> BIG HOLE---Freeman Hubbard described this as:
> "Emergency application of train brakes, causing a
> quick stop."
Also called  DUMPING THEM or "PLUG THEM,"  the latter usually being yelled at the hogger over the radio by a slightly hysterical trainman. 

> TIE 'EM DOWN---Set handbrakes.
Also 'CINCH 'EM.'

>
> DOGCATCHERS-
Could also be used as an adverb as in:  "You are being called to DOG CATCH the zipper."  This usually indicated a short turnaround back to the home terminal.  Being called to PATCH a pool frieght indicated that you would be relieving an outbound crew and implied an away from home terminal layover and a return trip.  Best pack accordingly.  
 
I was interested to hear your account of junior management types who thought we were using some sinister code, when using common slang.   Anyone I would know? (Just  kidding. Having been a BLE griever I can make an educated guess.)
Cheers,
Mike

This is a very fascinating thing, Railroad Slang! Where I was working at the time of the UP Hub agreement Roseville Service Unit was Roseville, California.
I went to a Roseville Engineers extra board (there are two), for a bit in 1999. I started working with WP and also SN Conductors on various
extra jobs. Being an SP guy and having worked on a number of parts of the 'ol SP I found a lot of the RR Lingo was somewhat the same.
 Working with the WP and SN Trainmen, well things could be different. I remember one time the ex WP Conductor told me we were going out to
"Louse" one train that was tied down and possibly "Louse" a second train that was still on the move. In my 24 years of railroading, that
term had never come up before on the SP. Most places we would generally say we were patching said train or something like they were
dead on the law. In Roseville at that time it was probably 10 SP or maybe even more to one WP or SN employee, I knew these terms
would disappear and they did. One time talking to longtime friend and fellow engineer Dave Stanley in Stockton I asked him in the old
WP yard office what job he was working? He told me he had "Old Man Turned" the Turlock Local. I knew right away that in SP terms he
had put a hold down or applicated to that job while the regular Engineer was on vacation. Terms like this were on all properties and I
think it is unfortunate that they have been lost probably forever due to mergers and other applicable situations.

sp3204 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is a very fascinating thing, Railroad Slang!
> Where I was working at the time of the UP Hub
> agreement Roseville Service Unit was Roseville,
> California.
> I went to a Roseville Engineers extra board (there
> are two), for a bit in 1999. I started working
> with WP and also SN Conductors on various
> extra jobs. Being an SP guy and having worked on a
> number of parts of the 'ol SP I found a lot of the
> RR Lingo was somewhat the same.
>  Working with the WP and SN Trainmen, well things
> could be different. I remember one time the ex WP
> Conductor told me we were going out to
> "Louse" one train that was tied down and possibly
> "Louse" a second train that was still on the move.
> In my 24 years of railroading, that
> term had never come up before on the SP. Most
> places we would generally say we were patching
> said train or something like they were
> dead on the law. In Roseville at that time it was
> probably 10 SP or maybe even more to one WP or SN
> employee, I knew these terms
> would disappear and they did. One time talking to
> longtime friend and fellow engineer Dave Stanley
> in Stockton I asked him in the old
> WP yard office what job he was working? He told me
> he had "Old Man Turned" the Turlock Local. I knew
> right away that in SP terms he
> had put a hold down or applicated to that job
> while the regular Engineer was on vacation. Terms
> like this were on all properties and I
> think it is unfortunate that they have been lost
> probably forever due to mergers and other
> applicable situations.

Old terms get lost to time, but we are surely speaking whatever language we are speaking now...that hopefully some will rue the loss of in a few years....while they are speaking their tongue....

Charley

Would you remember an old SP LA Div Conductor AA Swanson?  "All the way with double A".  He loved to give a young brakeman, or anyone else for that matter slag for any task.  Like "Get on the horn and tell that button snapper to get us a bushel of green apples".  [Call the Dispatcher on the phone and request a clear signal].  "Calling the head reptile at Mo-Javie".  [Switchmen were known as Snakes so the Head Reptile was the Yardmaster, at Mojve.] 
 
One I remember him telling a new bunny [that's what he called all brakemen]  "Take them flap jacks off that skinny track and shove them on the high iron, then introduce those balonies to each other and make sure to check the faucets so we can get some oxygen in the hack".  Never forget the look on the kids face you could just see ???????????.    

Pat 

Cabhop Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charley
>
> Would you remember an old SP LA Div Conductor AA
> Swanson?  "All the way with double A".  He loved
> to give a young brakeman, or anyone else for that
> matter slag for any task.  Like "Get on the horn
> and tell that button snapper to get us a bushel of
> green apples".  .  "Calling the head reptile at
> Mo-Javie".   
>  
> One I remember him telling a new bunny  "Take
> them flap jacks off that skinny track and shove
> them on the high iron, then introduce those
> balonies to each other and make sure to check the
> faucets so we can get some oxygen in the hack".
>  Never forget the look on the kids face you could
> just see ???????????.  

Oh, yeah. I remember "AA" very well. Spent a couple days with him on a weed-sprayer. 
I wrote a little of that experience here: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4562592,4563280#msg-4563280, scroll
down to the 12th reply.

On that same 2-3 day 'stand', "AA" was so 'wormy' that when we went to beans at Banning he scrounged around for some 
'chunks' and put one under every wheel on that train--including the power! When we came back from beans, the hogger actually 
had to pull em'---downhill to get the train moving! What a character.

Charlie
 

This is from the BN:  The agent was called "Big Dummy" because was really strange.  A"Carp" was any official, usually  not too sharp.  A man named Kelly was excempt marketing man from Phillie. He threwup his job and returned to the ranks in Minneapolis. He received a promotion years later and was a bigger dunny then big dummy!