Heritage Unit Photos (NW Mailing List)

[NW Mailing List]

Foamer-words, Abram?

I can tell you from very personal experience (and I know there are 
others on this list to back me up) that locomotives are indeed called 
"units."  I suspect it comes from the days in which a single locomotive 
could be made up of multiple units - for example, an ABBA set of FT's 
would correctly be a single locomotive, at least when first delivered.  
Also, have you ever heard of the connections between locomotives being 
called ME or ML ("multiple engine" or multiple locomotive") 
plugs/hoses?  I have NEVER heard of them being called anything other 
than MU ("multiple unit") plugs and hoses.  If you think about a 
locomotive in the terms of the steam era, it referred to the machine 
which pulled (or pushed) a train and which was under the control of an 
engineer.  By the same logic, I (as an engineer) would control multiple 
"units" in the diesel-electric replacement for that steam locomotive.

On a related note, a steam locomotive also has an engine - the 
combination of cylinders, rods, and main drive wheels (whichever wheel 
set the main rods go to) is correctly called the engine.  A steam 
"locomotive" is made up of the engine, boiler, tender (in most cases) 
and whatever additional wheels are needed to carry the weight and 
distribute the power of the engine.  A diesel locomotive also has an 
engine - also knows as the prime mover - which is a very large (in most 
cases) internal combustion diesel engine, and which powers the main 
generator which provides power to the traction motors which move the 
locomotive.  Thus, as you can see, "locomotive" and "engine" do not mean 
the same thing.

I cannot say a lot about "grabs" other than to say railroaders are lazy, 
and why use two words when one will get the message across?  That said, 
we don't discuss them that often - we just use them.  I cannot recall 
hearing them called "grabs" but then I cannot recall hearing them called 
anything, except during training.

A "ground throw" and a "hand operated switch" are in fact two different 
things.  The ground throw is the mechanism (with handle and sometimes 
target) which is used to operate a hand operated switch.  The switch is 
the track, the throw is the part the conductor or switchman uses.

I can't say I've heard much talk about signal heads (and even less about 
arms) on the railroad.  We usually call them "aspects," and yes I am 
aware that the aspect more properly refers to the lens and bulb rather 
than the entire head.  Historic nomenclature notwithstanding, a modern 
color light signal has heads, not arms.  the term "arm" comes from the 
days of semaphores, and CPLs could be considered similar, since they 
were basically stylized illuminated versions of semaphores.  I 
understand that the N&W did use the term when referring to the signal 
parts in question, though I do not know if it was official or cultural 
inertia.

Foamer-words, indeed!  I'm all for being a curmudgeon, but get it right, 
will ya?

Ken Rickman
engineer-at-large

On 4/27/2012 12:12 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:

>

> Why must we call locomotives "Units" ?

>

> What's wrong with the age-old, tradition-tried word "Engines" ?

>

> The same goes for such foamer drivel as "grabs" for grab irons, 

> "ground throws" for hand operated switches,  "heads" for the arms of a 

> signal, and such like weenie-talk.

>

> Y'all need to talk right, Fellers !  Use the historic vocabulary, not 

> foamer-words !

>

> -- abram burnett

>

> curmudegeon-at-large

>


-- 
Kenneth Rickman
Salisbury, NC
C:\WINDOWS C:\WINDOWS\GO C:\PC\CRAWL

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