| Beginning With: "W" |
| WABASH |
To hit cars going into adjacent tracks. (See cornered) Also refers to the officially frowned-upon practice of slowing up for a stop signal at a crossing with another railroad instead of stopping. The engineer would look up and down to make sure everything is safe, then start up again, having saved several minutes by not stopping entirely. Wabash may also mean a heavy fire in the locomotive firebox |
| WAGON |
Railroad car. (English term) |
| WALK THE DOG |
Wheel a freight so fast as to make cars sway from side to side |
| WALK UP AGAINST THE GUN |
Ascend a steep grade with the injector on |
| WALL STREET NOTCH |
Forward corner of reverse lever quadrant in engine cab (more commonly called company notch). Called Wall Street notch because engine pays dividends when heaviness of train requires engine to be worked that way |
| WASHOUT |
Stop signal, waved violently by using both arms and swinging them in downward arc by day, or swinging lamp in wide low semicircle across tracks at night |
| WATCH YOUR PINS |
Be careful around stacks of ties, rails, etc. |
| WAY CAR |
Caboose, or car of local freight |
| WEARING THE BLUE |
Delayed by car inspectors. A blue flag or blue light is placed on cars thus delayed and being worked on |
| WEARING THE GREEN |
Carrying green signals. When trains run in more than one section, all except the last must display two green flags |
| WEED BENDER |
Railroaders' derisive term for cowboy, other such terms being hay shaker, clover picker, and plow jockey. Commonest term for cowboy is cowpuncher, which is of railroad origin. Cowboys riding stock trains prod the cattle |
| WEED WEASEL |
Company Official Spying on Crews |
| WESTINGHOUSE |
Air brake, also called windjammer |
| WET MULE IN THE FIREBOX |
Bad job of firing a locomotive |
| WHALE BELLY |
Steel car, or type of coal car with drop bottom. Also called sow belly |
| WHEEL 'EM |
Let a train run without braking. Wheeling means carrying or hauling at good speed; also called highballing. You say wheeling the berries when you mean hauling the berry crop at high speed |
| WHEEL MONKEY |
Car inspector |
| WHEN DO YOU SHINE? |
What time were you called for? |
| WHISKERS |
Quite a bit of seniority |
| WHISTLE OUT A FLAG |
Engineer blows one long and three short blasts for the brakeman to protect rear of train |
| WHITE FEATHER |
Plume of steam over safety valves, indicating high boiler pressure |
| WHITE RIBBONS |
White flags (an extra train) |
| WHITEWASH |
Milk |
| WIDEN ON HER |
Open the throttle, increase speed |
| WIGWAG |
A grade-crossing signal |
| WILLIE |
Waybill for loaded car |
| WIND |
Air brakes |
| WING HER |
Set brakes on moving train |
| WISE GUY |
Station agent |
| WOLF or LONE WOLF |
Nonbrotherhood man |
| WORK WATER |
Some old-time engineers preferred to work the water (operate the injector and watch the water glass or gauge cocks). On most roads the fireman now works the water |
| WORKING A CAR |
Unloading a storage mail car |
| WORKING MAIL |
Mail in sacks and pouches consigned to R.P.O. (Railway Post Office) cars to be "worked" or sorted in transit |
| WRECKING CREW |
Relief crew. Derogatory term derived from the difficulty regular men sometimes experience in rearranging a car after it has been used by relief men |
| WRONG IRON |
Main track on which the current of traffic is in the opposite direction |
| WYE |
Tracks running off the main line or lead, forming a letter Y; used for turning cars and engines where no urntable is available |
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