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Show vDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1930 Railroaders 5trong in ' . Use of Colorful Term) A brakemau Is telling a story 0f the rails: j "Before we leave I take a run up 1 to the calliope to match watches with I the boghead and find a student tal-l low pot in the cab. taking orders: from the bakehead and spadiu' dia-1 monds with his feet together." Substitute locomotive for "calliope," engineer for "boghead," apprentice' fireman for "student tallow pot," fireman fire-man for "bakehead," coal for "diamonds" "dia-monds" and it all becomes quite Intelligible, In-telligible, says the Bookman. The railroad man has not one but several colorful terms for the men and things that enter into his day's work. The locomotive is still "the hog,", from the wood burning days when its gluttonous appetite kept a lire-man lire-man constantly on his toes, but It g also the "calliope" and the "boiler." A switch engine, which butts cars about the yards, is the "goat." Tha engineer is "boghead," "hogger" and "swell head." The fireman is "bake-' head." A "snake" is a yard switchman and a "stinger" is a brakeman, while tha yardmaster answers to "dinger." a! "drag" is a slow freight and the ca- boose, reasonably enough, is tha "crummy." |