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SCLS Live Steam Railroading Glossary

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Beginning With: "T"
TAIL OVER HER BACK Engine with full head of steam, with plume resembling a squirrel's tail from her safety valve
TAKE THE RUBBER OUT OF THEM Disconnect the air hoses on a train
TAKING YOUR MINUTES Stopping for lunch
TALLOWPOT Locomotive fireman, so called from melted tallow used to lubricate valves and shine the engine
TANK Locomotive tender. Tanker is tank car used in hauling oil, water, milk, chemicals or some other liquid
TEAKETTLE See kettle
TEASE THE BRUTE Follow the engine
TELLTALES 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
TEMPLE OF KNOWLEGE Term for caboose
TERMINAL Railway Post Office unit, usually at or near the railroad station, where mail is removed from sacks, sorted, and forwarded to its ultimate destination
TERMINAL LOAD A shipment of mail consigned to a certain R.P.O. terminal office for sorting and reshipment in other sacks
THE BISCUITS HANG HIGH There's a scarcity of food handouts in that locality
THIRTY Telegraphic term for "that's all-no more"
THOUSAND-MILER Black satin or blue percale shirt worn by railroaders, expected to last 1,000 miles between washings. (The usual basis of a day's work was about 10 0 miles, so two shirts could easily last from one pay day to the next)
THREE-BAGGER Train pushed or pulled by three engines. (No doubt originated by a baseball fan)
THROTTLE GOD Loc.Engineer)
THROTTLE-JERKER Engineer
THROW AWAY THE DIAMONDS Term applied to locomotive fireman missing the firedoor with a shovelful of coal and spilling some
THROW OUT THE ANCHOR Done for the Day
TIE 'EM DOWN Set handbrakes
TIE ON Couple on. Tie 'em together is to couple cars
TIE UP Stop for a meal or for rest
TIER Pile of mail sacks or parcels occupying the full width at each end of a car
TIMKENIZED Equipped with Timken roller bearings
TIN LIZARD Streamlined train
TING-A-LING Small engine with "tinny" bell
TISSUE Train order. (See flimsy)
TOAD Derail. (See rabbit)
TOEPATH or TOWPATH Running board of locomotive or catwalk on top of boxcars, or that part of railroad embankment lying between end of ties and shoulders of fill
TONK Car repairer
TONNAGE HOUND Trainmaster or other official who insists upon longer or heavier trains than the crew and motive power can handle efficiently
TOP DRESSER DRAWER Upper bunk in caboose
TOWER BUFF Railfan so zealous that he disregards signs such as "Private," "No Admittance" and "Stay Out" on interlocking towers and other railroad structures
TRAIN LINE Pipe that carries compressed air to operate air brakes
TRAMPIFIED The way a boomer looked after being out of work a long time. His clothes were "ragged as a barrel of sauerkraut" and he needed a "dime's worth of decency" (shave)
TRAVELING CARD Card given by a railroad Brotherhood to a man in search of employment. Also an empty slip bill
TRAVELING GRUNT Road foreman of engines, traveling engineer. Sometimes called traveling man
TRICK Shift, hours of duty
TRIMMER Engine working in hump yard that goes down into yard and picks out misdirected cars and shoves them to clear. (See yard and hump)
TWO-WHEELER Two-wheeled hand truck for transferring baggage and mail around in a station
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