14 October 2005
Most professions have their own jargon, a specialized vocabulary that applies to that field. Railroading is no different in this respect. Many railroading terms are familiar to us. Terms like whistle stop and cowcatcher are distinctly old-fashioned.
But not all railroad jargon terms are archaic or obsolete. Here is a selection of modern terms in use by those who run the railroads.
angle bar, n., length of steel used to join sections of track or to repair gaps in a track
armadillo, n., a van carrying replacement crews
autorack train, n., a train carrying automobiles
baby lifter, n., a brakeman
bad order, n., a rail car that needs repair
beaner, n., a B.N.S.F. (railroad company) train
block, n., a length of track controlled by a single signal
block signal, n., a signal at the entrance of a block that governs trains entering that block
bowl, n., area of tracks in a yard where cars are organized into trains
branch line, n., a secondary line of a railroad
bronco, n., automobile equipped to ride on rail tracks; bronco in the canyon, n., such an automobile on the tracks
bulk train, n., a train carrying a single commodity, other than coal
caboose, n., crew car at the end of a train, very few are still in use
coal train, n., a train carrying coal; in the US, coal trains are by far the longest and heaviest trains
conductor, n., the senior crewman responsible for cargo and passengers
consist, n., the contents of a car
crossing, n., a place where railroad tracks cross a road or other track; grade crossing, a ground level crossing; signed crossing, a crossing marked with a warning signs; whistle guard crossing, a crossing that sounds a whistle as a train approaches; guarded crossing, a crossing with gates that close as the train approaches
crossover, n., a track connection between two adjacent tracks; v., to drive a train from one track onto another
curfew, n., period where no trains are scheduled, used for track maintenance, cf. window
cut, n., a group of cars in a switchyard intended for the same train; v., to separate car(s) from a train
dark territory, n., a stretch of track without signal control where instructions must be relayed via radio
dead man’s pedal, n., a pedal that must remain depressed in order for the train to move
dead on the law, adj., stopped by the legal requirement for crew rest
dead, adj., stopped
diamond, n., intersection of tracks where only one can be used at a time
distributed power, n., the use of locomotives in the front to pull the train and simultaneously others in the rear to push; also DPU for distributed power unit
dogcatcher, n., a crewman dispatched to replace a crew that needs rest
drag out, v., to move a cars out of yard to make room for others, past tense is drug out
engineer, n., a crewman responsible for driving a locomotive
enroute, n., train destined for a particular yard
extra train, n., an unscheduled train
flag, v., to authorize a train to proceed, to override an automated signal that says stop
flat switching, n., organizing trains in a yard without humps
fluidity, n., state where the trains are moving
frog, n., metal flange that guides a train’s wheels from one track to another at a switch
go in the hole, v., when passing another train, to take a siding, cf. hold the main
go training, v., to engage in train watching
health monitoring, n., maintenance inspections
hold, v., to keep a train in a yard or station beyond its planned departure
hold out, v., to keep a train outside a yard or station until there is room
hold the main, v., when passing another train, to remain on the main track, cf. go in the hole
hot box, n., an overheated axle bearing
hot shot, n., a priority train
hot wheels, n., overheated wheel from a sticking brake
hump, n., a small rise used to assist in coupling train cars in a yard; v., to couple cars through use of a hump
humper, n., a train heading to the hump yard
intermodal train, n., a train consisting of cars carrying containers
lay down, v., to stop a train on the tracks for an extended period, usually with power shut down (cf. tie down)
manifest train, n., a train consisting of mixed types of cars
pit, n., fueling station
recrew, n., a replacement crew
roll by, n., an inspection by the crew of another train as it passes
ruling grade, n., the steepest grade on a route, it determines or "rules" how heavy a train may be
run-through, n., a train that passes through a yard without cars being added or detached
shoofly, n., temporary track laid to bypass an obstacle, such as a mud slide
shooter, n., a high-priority train
slave locomotive, n., an unmanned locomotive controlled by a manned locomotive
slot, v., to schedule a train to depart a yard or terminal
spur, n., short, dead-end section of track used to load trains, access a location, or for parking
stack train, n., a train carrying stacked containers
switch engine, n., an engine used to move cars in a yard
throw the fence, n., technique where the engines in the front of a train slow the cars descending a hill while locomotives at the rear are still pushing cars up the other side of the same hill
tie down, v., to stop a train temporarily outside a terminal
tie up, v., to finish a run
train watcher, n., a hobbyist who observes trains, called a train spotter in Britain
trim, n., a line of coupled cars ready for departure awaiting a locomotive; v., to organize a line of such cars
trim lead, n., track leading from the sorting tracks to the departure yard where a trim is joined with its locomotive
UDE, abbrev., undesired emergency
walk, v., to run a train at the speed a person can walk, usually because of a suspected defect in the track
window, n., period where no trains are scheduled, usually for reasons other than track and signal maintenance, cf. curfew
