Railroaders' Nostalgia > Nicknames

Do any of you older guys from the SP remember nicknames given to TE&Y personel on the Los Angeles Divison in the1960s,70s and 80s ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/25 16:25 by SLOCONDR.

He doesn't fall into the category of TE&Y but Boyce Palmer, Master Car Repairer in the Mechanical Dept., Los Angeles, was known as Tweety.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/25 19:18 by Gold_Coast.

Not on the SP or LA Div.  but railroaders always seemed to have a nickname.  On the UP in Kansas I can think of a couple of first 2 initials--C B was Crash Bang--R S was rough stop----all in good kind humor though.  My Dad was simply Red (red hair) or Steve.
Brian Stevens

On the SP Portland division there was an L.S. McCarthy who was called Long Silent which he wasn't.

This thread should fill in some blanks.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,4536206

Years ago, we had two trainmen on the SP Los Angeles Division with the last name Hamilton,  No relation that I know of.  One was nicknamed "Crybaby, for obvious reasons.  The other carried the handle "Jackass," because when he laughed, it sounded exactly like a Jackass braying.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO

Jackass was laughing boy Hamilton. Peaches Werner was stopped at Loma Linda adjacent to a peach grove he decided to pick a few ripe ones. The owner fired a shotgun at him and Peaches had an immediate bio reaction.
Liver lip Edwards had a lower lip that was as big as a slice of liver.
Gerald Weece was known as the arrogant Texan.
squeaky Terhune was known for his squeaky voice.
Ed Platz was known as cracker ass.
Tin can Charlie always picked up cans along the right of way.
The orangatan was George Walthers for his strength.
Montgomery was the rug peddler.
Beet face was a yard master by the name of Allard.
Qualude..Jim Kweij..
erkel A yardmaster.
Russ Blind called him the blindman.
Jerry Downs was known as the jumper. He jumped out the window of a locomotive at Walong.
BB Hagen was known as birdbrain.
Lou Arnson was known as Lulubell.
Charles Thorne was known as Mortimer Snerd.
LA Division had its own version of Hungry.. Donahue.

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Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/25 09:56 by SanJoaquinEngr.

tehachcond Wrote:
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> Years ago, we had two trainmen on the SP Los
> Angeles Division with the last name Hamilton,  No
> relation that I know of.  One was nicknamed
> "Crybaby, for obvious reasons.  The other carried
> the handle "Jackass," because when he laughed, it
> sounded exactly like a Jackass braying.
>
> Brian Black
> Castle Rock, CO

😅 😂 🤣

West Colton Engineer WW (Bill) Adams was called Weeping Willy, always complaining about his train or the dispatcher. We finally just shortened it to The Weepster. SJ Engineer Jimmy Benson was called Park Ranger. 

Okay I will finall jump in. Two Tracy SP Engineers had nicknames. Gary "HUNGRY" Hymen, pretty much beloved by everybody! Then you had Tom "Chainsaw"Elledge", not beloved by most. What about the "Cat Man" in Bakersfield. Trainman who had an aversion to bathing, I never worked with him in Bakersfield but definitely smelled him in the  the yard office and Locker Room more than once!

sp3204 Wrote:
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> Okay I will finall jump in. Two Tracy SP Engineers
> had nicknames. Gary "HUNGRY" Hymen, pretty much
> beloved by everybody! Then you had Tom
> "Chainsaw"Elledge", not beloved by most. What
> about the "Cat Man" in Bakersfield. Trainman who
> had an aversion to bathing, I never worked with
> him in Bakersfield but definitely smelled him in
> the  the yard office and Locker Room more than
> once!

Oh yes the Catman..Ray Schaefer.. We always wore Pendleton type wool shirts.. Summer or winter. He lived in a tear drop trailer complete with cats. He would take his monthly shower in the yard office bathroom. He was too cheap to buy bar soap and he would use the Boraxo powder right out of the pump dispenser..

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 John Edwards-Shamu
Tom Braunger-One Way, when he came to the VC he would eat an onion like an apple.
 

SP4360 Wrote:
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>  John Edwards-Shamu
> Tom Braunger-One Way, when he came to the VC he
> would eat an onion like an apple.

He got fired off the SP, and the uinion missed an appeal deadline, so he was all done with the SP.  When he hired out on the VC,  he thought he was going to be an engineer.  Well, her found out the VC already had a full complements of engineers, and if he wanted to work there, he was going to work the ground.

Brian Blacl
Castle Rock, CO.
>  

He never told us he got fired, we had the understanding that he got tired of them and quit. But that sounds about right for the train crew the pres. used to hire, Ron Baker, Tom Schwartz, and the brakeman/conductor (a friend of Baker) she hired after the guy stuffed a tug under a dock up to the wheelhouse in LA.

tehachcond Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SP4360 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >  John Edwards-Shamu
> > Tom Braunger-One Way, when he came to the VC he
> > would eat an onion like an apple.
>
> He got fired off the SP, and the uinion missed an
> appeal deadline, so he was all done with the SP. 
> When he hired out on the VC,  he thought he was
> going to be an engineer.  Well, her found out the
> VC already had a full complements of engineers,
> and if he wanted to work there, he was going to
> work the ground.
>
> Brian Blacl
> Castle Rock, CO.
> >  

Among my favorite co-workers was an engineer who's first initials were P.T. ; which stood for "part-time."  He liked to lay-off and always found a way to avoid getting in conflict with attendance "guidelines."  Often wonder how he (or I) would have dealt with the infamous " hi-viz" policy.  

Hello Virlon, 
how about WL "Knucklehead"     Schwartz, an LA yardmaster.
"Curly" Frandsen, a bald conductor working at C of I.
"Rubber Butt" Hughes, also at C of I.
"Neighbor" Phillips, the ATM at Surf.
"Bud" Park, the ATM at SLO.
"Dangerous Dan, or Dum Dum" Burke
"Whamo" Hudman, a Gemco engineer.
"Smokey" Stover, an LA road foreman.
LC "The Pilgrim" Hadley, a coast conductor.

Off the LA Division, but worthy of mention!
LN "Loose Nuts" Wilson, a Sparks engineer.
"Ruby" Rubalcava, a Roseville switchman.
"Pork Chop" Lee, a Sparks yardmaster.
"The Sheep" Bryce Lamb, a Sparks RFE

ExSPCondr Wrote:
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> "Smokey" Stover, an LA road foreman.

Unless you had someone else in mind, I remember Smokey Snyder, one of the two, (Rollin Roberts
was the other), as RFE in LA.

A bit of trivia: does anyone, still living, remember Smokey's actual first name? I do...

The late John ("Steamjocky") Edwards and I discussed this here on TO's a few years ago. 

Charlie

 

cewherry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ExSPCondr Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > "Smokey" Stover, an LA road foreman.
>
> Unless you had someone else in mind, I remember
> Smokey Snyder, one of the two, (Rollin Roberts
> was the other), as RFE in LA.
>
> A bit of trivia: does anyone, still living,
> remember Smokey's actual first name? I do...
>
> The late John ("Steamjocky") Edwards and I
> discussed this here on TO's a few years ago. 
>
> Charlie
>
>  

No.. but every old head engineer I worked with that knew him said he was a prince of a man.

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