A passive crossbuck is just the sign itself: a white Train including its crew, cargo, and assures to it arrives to itsĬonsignee: One who receives a freight shipment.Ĭonsist: Used to describe the makeup of a train (i.e., freight, car types, etc.).Ĭonsolidation: The merging of two corporations into an entirely new corporation.Ĭontainer: Standardized 40-foot box designed for shipping freight by rail, truck, or ship.Ĭontrolling interest: Owning enough stock in a corporation to control that corporation.ĬP: Abbreviation for control point on a railroad.Ĭrossbuck: The "X"-shaped sign found just before a road crosses The Baltimore & Ohio was our nation's first common carrier.Ĭommuter service: Passenger train service that typically operates during normal working hours throughout the week hauling mostly workers to and from the workplace.Ĭompany-owned railroad: A railroad's stock controlled by a company and not individuals.Ĭonductor: The crew member who is entirely responsible for the and Canada) created in 1863.īoomer: A railroader who changes jobs often as he drifts through the country.īridge route: Refers to a railroad which typically has more bridge/through traffic operating over its rails than terminating/originating traffic.īridge traffic: Also known as overhead traffic it is freight received from one railroad to be moved by a second railroad for delivery to a third.īulk: Commodities such as grain, coal, soda ash, ore, plastic pellets, liquid sweeteners, petroleum, etc.īulletin order: This term describes notifications (typically on paper) given to railroad employees informing them of a train movement or operational change.Ĭharter: Necessary in creating a corporation, a governmental means (usually either state or country) of granting rights, franchises, and privileges to such.Ĭlearance diagram: A diagram the car and locomotive type and size a particular rail line (or any given section of track) can handle.Ĭlearance form: These forms were issued to passing trains by a lineside operator (usually at an interlocking tower) telling them, sequentially, their orders, if any.ĬOFC: Short for Containers On Flat car, used to describe a type of train movement which hauls shipping containers.Ĭog railroad: Cog railroads are capable of traversing incredible grades and to do so they use toothed wheels (similar to gearing) running between the rails to achieve this.Ĭommon carrier: A company which offers services to the general public and anyone willing to use the company to move their goods for compensation in return.
Glossary Terms: Background, Photos, Overviewīrotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)īelt line: Refers to a railroad that operates exclusively in and/or around a large city.īLE: Refers to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers which is a railroad labor union (made up of engineers and dispatchers throughout the U.S.
Railroads from railroad ties to knuckle-couplers (something found almost Today there are hundreds and hundreds describing every aspect of
There is now even a book highlighting this very subject, Glen Landin's "The Illustrated Railroad Glossary: 101 Common Railroad Terms." Over time, as technologies changed, new terms appeared while others vanished.įor instance, while tell-tales are no longer in use (devices place along the right-of-way, usually made of light chain or rope, to warn brakeman working the rooftops that an impending obstacle was ahead) the FRED (Flashing Rear End Device) gained acceptance during the 1980s as a replacement to the venerable caboose.ĭespite this car's redundancy it remains beloved as have many devices since retired.
It should come as a no surprise that during that time a entire dictionary of words have resulted, describing everything from locomotives and rolling stock American railroads have now been in continuous operation for nearly two centuries.