“teakettle”]
There are several kinds of switch engine, built especially for their
jobs. But switching is often done with very old engines that aren’t fast
enough for regular runs any more. Railroad men call an old wheezy engine
a teakettle. An ordinary switch engine is a bobtail or a yard goat.
If the yard doesn’t have switches that work by electricity, switchmen
work them by hand. A switchman is sometimes called a cherry picker,
because of the red lights on the switches. Another nickname for him is
snake. That’s because he used to wear a union button with a big snaky S
on it. Many railroaders belong to unions called Brotherhoods. Part of
the safety of their work was brought about by the unions which helped to
get laws passed and rules established to make railroading as free from
danger as possible.
[Illustration: back in
hot box
cross over
train should back away
come in on track four]
In the old days, one great danger came from the big, heavy gadget called
a link-and-pin that joined the cars together. The switchman or the
brakeman had to reach in and fasten it when a train was being made up.
If the cars began to move while he was at work, he might get his fingers
cut off.
All cars now have automatic couplings which clasp together and hold
tight when one car bumps another. To uncouple, the switchman works a
handle that keeps his fingers safely out of the way.
A railroad yard is a noisy place. Usually the engineer can’t possibly
talk with a switchman down the track, no matter how loud he shouts. So
railroaders have worked out a whole sign language in which they can
talk to each other from a distance. The pictures tell what some of these
special signals mean.
[Illustration: cut off car or engine
bad order car
take water
couple cars
time to eat]
After a new freight train has been made up at the classification yard, a
car inspector puts a blue flag on the engine and another on the caboose.
Then he checks up carefully on the whole train to make sure everything
is in good working order. An old nickname for inspector is car toad,
because he often squats down to look for broken parts. While he is at
work, the blue flags are a warning that the train must not be disturbed.
If the inspector finds a car that needs repairs, he reports that it is a
“bad order car.”