Glossary of Railroad Terminology or Slang

The first glossary of railroad terminology or slang covers the equipment terms.

All black: Signals an “all clear” meaning there are no defects that can be seen against the black running gear
Anti-climber: Positioned at the front and rear of a locomotive to prevent debris from reaching the cab
Blue flag: This can be a blue flag, sign, or light that indicates the car is being worked on
Coupler: Also known as the knuckle-coupler, this locks cars and locomotives together
Engine: The term for any kind of locomotive
EOT device: End Of Train object that monitors the air brakes. Also known as FRED - Flashing Rear End Devices, it replaced the caboose in the 1980s.
Flange: The small lip on the inside of rail wheels which guides and keeps the locomotive or car on the track
Goat: Slang for yard engines
Piggyback: This refers to the truck trailers that are being transported
Sperry car: This car, used by Sperry Rail Services, looks for defects in the rail
Yard goat: A term for a switch engine
Yaw dampers: This is a spring that reduces the rocking motion of an engine or car

General Terms

This next glossary of railroad terminology or slang covers railroading terms in general:

COFC: Containers On Flatcar, when the train is hauling shipping containers
Cog railroad: A cog train can travel on steep grades because of a toothed rack rail positioned between the rails of a cog railroad. The cog wheel on the train meshes with the rack rail.
Conductor: The person responsible for the train, its crew, and cargo
Crossbuck: The X shaped sign where the tracks cross a road
Derail: When the train leaves the tracks
Doubleheading: When there are two locomotives moving a train
Double-stack: Stacking one container on top of another
Drag: Slang for slow freight
Eighth notch: The final notch in the throttle; the most powerful position
Engineer: Person responsible for operating the engine, also called hog head, hogger, and hostler
Fusee: A flare
Highball: A signal to operate a train at full speed.
Hotshot: A freight train given priority that is almost never held up and is usually given the main line
In the hole: This is a word for the siding where a train waits for another to pass
Meet: This occurs when one train passes another and one is in the siding
On the ground: Term for a derailed train
Pickup: Adding cars to a train
Power: Another name for locomotives
Roadmaster: The person responsible for railroad track maintenance
Run 8: Running at notch 8 or full power
Stack train: A slang term for a train that has the containers stacked two deep on each car
TOFC: Trailer-On-Flatcar which means hauling highway truck trailers
Varnish: A slang term that refers to passenger cars and equipment which originally referred to the wooden passenger cars that had glossy varnish on them
Zombie: A slang term for reusing a locomotive's frame and trucks (wheel-axle-frame assembly)

Railroad History

The history of the railroad started in 1815 when Colonel John Stevens received the first railroad charter and soon built the New Jersey Railroad Company. By 1850, there was over 9000 miles of track east of the Mississippi River. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 spurred the westward movement of people which included building railroads.

The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 when the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad met in Promontory Point, Utah. After World War II, traffic for both freight and passengers declined steadily. After deregulation in 1980, there was a slow recovery which gained speed into the 21st century.

Glossary of Railroad Terminology or Slang