Wes Boyd’s Spearfish Lake Tales Contemporary Mainstream Books and Serials Online

Railroad Terminology Glossary

AIR PACK – Not a RR term, “canned” or “bottled” air for gas masks.

ALCO – Slang for engines, both diesel and steam but primarily the former, built by the now-defunct American Locomotive Company. Alco does retain the cachet of being the builder of the largest main line use locomotive. It was the “Big Boy,” purpose built for the Union Pacific.

APU – Auxiliary Power Unit, a small engine used in starting larger engines.

BALDWIN 2-6-0 – The model 9608 steam locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Company. It has 2 unpowered wheels (1 axle) in front to help with guiding the locomotive on the tracks, 6 driving wheels (3 axles) under the main part of the engine, and no trailing wheels under the cab. Small for a steam engine, in its day mostly used for local freights. The one in this story is owned by the Lordston Northern Scenic Railroad, hence the LN.

BALLAST – The gravel that railroad ties holding iron rails are bedded in. This continuously settles and shifts with train movement over the rails, especially on curves.

BRAKEMAN – The crewman who manages the cars and switching while the train is under way. On some roads he may be called a “brakeman/switchman”. In the days before modern air charged braking systems the brakeman ran along the top of the cars setting or releasing the brakes by hand.

BURLINGTON – GP-7 General Motors Electro-Motive bought from the Burlington Northern RR (officially the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad).

CABOOSE – Also crummy, crumbbox, crumb wagon, way car, and others. Obsolescent at the time of this story and obsolete today. In its day gave office and crew quarters at the back of a train. Through the years there were many types of cabooses on many different railroads.

CHESSIE – General Electric 44-ton Switch Engine bought from the Chesapeake and Ohio RR thus the name.

CONDUCTOR – The railroad employee with primary responsibility for a train when underway. He tells the engineer how fast to run, where to pause to let other traffic pass and is responsible for the correct switching of any rolling stock during his shift. On the C&SL the engineer performs this function in addition to physically running the engines. On larger roads like the D&O he would be a separate crewman.

CONSIST – Cars that the train consists of. In common usage it refers to a “road ready” set of equipment (engine & cars).

CORNFIELD MEET – Head on collision between two locomotives with or without trains attached.

COUPLER or COUPLING – The mechanism that joins two train cars together, or the act of joining.

CRUMMY or CRUMB BOX – See Caboose.

CUT or CUTS – Often refers to a group of rail cars being switched. The term moving in “three cuts” means breaking apart a group (cut) of cars into three separate groups and moving each “cut” to a new location and then re-assembling them into a single group (cut). A cut can also refer to a place where a railroad or road routed through an elevated area by way of “cutting” the roadbed through the area as is done for automobile roadcuts. This kind of cut through looks somewhat like a flat-bottomed V. A cut can also appear to be a trench cut through a hill.

DISPATCHER – The dispatcher controls all train movement of any kind on the section or division for which he is responsible. On the C&SL there is no one specifically assigned as dispatcher. That function is largely part of Bud’s job, or in later books, Josh assumes that responsibility.

EMD – Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (formerly the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors) is one of the largest builders of diesel electric locomotives. The reliability and economy of their locomotives essentially brought about the end of the steam era.

ENGINE SERVICE – On the C&SL the term “engine service” refers to being promoted to the post of engineer and being placed on the roster of qualified engineers. On the C&SL as on some other short line railroads the engineer acts as conductor as well as engineer.

EOT – End of Train or “F.R.E.D.” (Flashing Rear End Device), the high tech replacement for the caboose. Can also be known as an ETD (End of Train Device). As well as giving warning to following equipment that there is a train under orders in front of them, “smart” units also radio information about train conditions to the front engine, especially brake line air pressure. This is known as a HTD or “Head of Train Device”, slang-termed by railroad workers as a “Wilma”, after the Flintstone’s cartoon series

F-7 COVERED WAGONS – An early EMD diesel electric locomotive set. It was the series largely responsible for the demise of steam. The outline of the engine body gave the appearance of an old Oregon Trail Conestoga wagon.

FISHPLATE – Flat metal plate that joins two rails. Today, most rails on more heavily trafficked track are welded.

FLATCAR or FLAT – Open car without sides used for hauling vehicles, containers, trailers, large items.

FLYING SWITCH – A “flying switch” is a method of switching rail cars at slow speed rather than having to fully stop. While traveling down the track at sufficient speed for the cars to roll free onto the siding, the brakeman “breaks” the coupling and then signals the engineer that the coupling is open (the engineer usually has to bump the throttle to help the coupling break). The engineer then accelerates so that the consist can pass the switch leaving the brakeman time to jump off of the last car and then throw the switch so that the free-wheeling cars pass onto the siding with existing momentum. While the cars being switched are clearing the main track the engineer brings the consist to a halt and reverses so that the brakeman can climb back aboard. The engineer must time things so that the consist is not back at the switch before the cars being sidelined have cleared the main track and the brakeman has had time to reline the switch for the backing consist. The engineer and brakeman must coordinate things so that the switch is always aligned the proper way for each part of the maneuver otherwise there could be a derailment. This maneuver is very dangerous, and it is quite easy for a crewman to be seriously injured or killed. Over the years some switching maneuvers that are not as complicated or that use some parts of the above description have also been called a “flying switch”.

FM – Fairbanks Morse, another manufacturing company, no longer building railroad engines.

FRONTLOADER – Not a railroad term, actually a bulldozer or tractor with a bucket on the front.

FUSEE – Railroad flare.

GEEP – Slang for “GP”, the General Motors Electromotive “General Purpose” series of locomotives. All have 4 axles; newer ones, such as the GP-60, have considerably more power.

GONDOLA, GON – Open, low-sided car used for hauling a variety of materials.

HIGH RAILER – A slang term used by railroaders to refer to any motorized vehicle, often a pickup truck, that has been converted to run on rails as well as roads.

HOGLAWED – Slang term that means a train crew has reached the federally mandated 12-hour “hours of service” limit. Another term is “Dead”, as in “the crew is dead.” When a crew reaches the service limit they are required by law to stop the train they are operating and lock the brakes until a replacement (dog catcher) crew arrives. The slang term comes from the fact that at one time, law mandated that hogs had to have a break after a stated period of being in cars. At that time railroad workers didn’t have such limits . . .

HOPPER – Enclosed car used for hauling bulk granular material, such as grain, fertilizer, and so forth.

ICC, INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION – Federal agency that oversees railroad operating rules.

IRON – The track trains run on, iron rails. Can also be referred to when a train would be going onto trackage owned by a competitor.

LASHUP – A mixed group of engine types pulling a train.

LN-9608 – See Baldwin. A steam locomotive owned by the Lordston Northern Scenic Railroad.

JOURNAL BOX – A box on the side of older freight car wheels holding lubricant.

MILWAUKEE-202 – General Motors Electro-Motive NW2 Switch Engine bought from the Milwaukee Road (officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad). See NW2.

M.U. LINES – Abreviation for “Multiple Unit.” Control lines to run several engines from one cab.

ORDERS/TRAIN ORDERS – System by which North American railroads controlled train operation. A train was not allowed out of the marshaling yard or station unless it was “under orders”. The once common system has been largely replaced by electronic and radio-controlled systems. Also see “Smoke Orders”.

PASSING TRACK – A passing track is a section of track that is parallel to the main line. It has switches at both ends to tie it into the main line. To use it the train being passed pulls onto the passing track. The switches are relined for the main line. The train then waits until the train with “right of way” has passed. The switches are then opened and the train pulls back onto the main line. The switches then have to be relined for the main line. An incorrectly set switch or a train not completely clear of the main line will cause an accident.

PIGGYBACK – Loading trailers or containers on flat cars for delivery. The method of piggybacking vehicles used in Snowplow Extra in this book is primitive; virtually all loading and unloading today is done by crane. Most railroad histories credit The Chicago Great Western as being the first to offer full piggy-back service in 1936. While that is true, the first common use of the technique was pioneered by the great circuses of the US. P. T. Barnum pioneered this usage in 1872. The Ringling organization still uses this system over a hundred years later although unloading power is now supplied by diesel tractors.

POWER – The power unit or engine/locomotive in a train consist. The number of engines a railroad has available.

SECTION GANG – Crew that maintains the railway roadbed on a specific “section” of track.

SIGNALS – The system of lights, semaphore arms, or electronic transmissions used to control train movement between dispatch centers.

SMOKE ORDERS – When there are no written orders from dispatch or any form of signals, trains are said to be running on “Smoke Orders”. It comes from the days of steam when the crew always looked for the smoke from other approaching trains. This was a dangerous practice which led to many accidents.

SW9, NW2, etc. – Designation of various older models of General Motors Electro-Motive Division switch engines. NWs are basically pre-WWII; SWs date from the late 1940s and 50s.

SWITCHMAN – Also known as yardman. Is responsible for the correct operation of the switches to place the train and rolling stock where they are supposed to be for storage, delivery, or for use. On the C&SL this duty is the responsibility of the brakeman.

SWITCHES – The mechanism that allows trains to change tracks. Called “turnouts” by Brits and modelers. Switch or switching can also be the act of operating/changing a switch.

TANK CAR – A rail car designed to carry liquids or pressurized gas. The earliest tank cars were literally a flat car with open-top tanks. Most modern tank cars are owned by the industries that use them or by specialized leasing companies.

TRACKAGE – Can be the track itself or the rights to use a given section of track. If a railroad company doesn’t own specific track, they need to get permission from the owner before they can run their train on it.

TRACTION MOTOR – Railroad engines use diesel power to run a generator, and the generator provides electric power to run high-starting-torque electric motors called traction motors, which are mounted down near the axles, exactly where depends on the type. Though indirect, it allows train engines to pull very hard from a dead stop as diesel engines are low-torque at low speeds.

TRAIN AIR, AIR BRAKES – Train brakes work by positive air pressure. They are defaulted to the “brakes on” position. Air pressure needs to be pumped up by the engine via hoses connecting the cars for the train to move. It can take a while to pump up train air.

TURN – Train that starts a run out of a location and returns there the same shift.

VHF – Very High Frequency radio, similar to aircraft radio but operates in a slightly different frequency range. Line of sight only, which adds to the story complexity. This story is set before cell phones!

WAY CAR – A caboose. See caboose.

WAY FREIGHT or Local Freight – Empty cars are left at a business to be loaded, and/or full cars are left at a business to be unloaded. Way freight trains usually don’t travel long distances, and the work day may originate and end in the same locations, also called a “local”.

WYE – A wye in railroad terms is an arrangement of three sections of track and three switches in a “Y” formation that allows a train to reverse the direction in which it is headed.

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