Shoo-fly: Origin of term?

Everyone,

As a result of the Galt, IL derailment on UP eariler this week, this phrase has been thrown around quite a bit, from conception to reality. Although the first temptation is to just merely accept it as just another railroading
slang term, nevertheless I find myself wondering just how this became the colloquial term for temporary trackage around an accident or construction site. It just sounds like such a weird thing to say. Anyone familar with the history of this phrase, please respond...

A railroad slang term, just like, beans, skinner back, hot shot, hog head, piglet, dynamiter, car toad, shack, dope, dope folder, dope cutter, the hole, mop sucker, slave unit, die, dogcatch, deadhead, fired....we have alot of strange words we use.

Shoo-Fly trem is refered to a tempory passing sideing constructed around a derailments, land slides, or outher obsturctions.

Here are a few cool sites to pick up on more railroad slang and there definitions.
http://www.vnerr.com/news/slang.htm
http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/defs.html

Not to go too far OT with this, but speaking of unique RR slang, one of the better ones is when you exceed your service limits (you "died" or "you're dead"). A few years ago here, there was a guy whose train had outlawed and for some reason they couldn't get a relief crew out to the train. The guy's wife was nervous as to why he hadn't come home when he was supposed to. She managed to get ahold of the tower number, and one of the Yardmasters told her, "Oh yeah, Dick died out at Troutdale, we'll bring him in as soon as we can get someone out there". I guess a half hour later there was a hysterical woman running around the Yard Offices screaming for someone to go get her dead husband LOLOL....Advice to new guys: The first thing you have to explain to your loved ones about this job is that Fired doesn't really mean FIRED and dead doesn't really mean...well, you know (hopefully).

Thanks for the knowledge everyone. I'm not new to most railroad slang terms (btw, my favorite one is black diamonds, aka coal), but it's something about shoo-fly that I just can't get used to for some reason. Oh well, maybe it's just me....

I thinks it's a Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) term. It's an overly sweet pie made from molasses.

Seriously, now, here is a definition that gives some hint as to the origination of this term, taken from a glossery of hobo terms:

Shoo fly - A railroad detour, when a track is built around some obstacle. Also means to avoid passing through a town if the police are hostile.

Source

SteelWheels, that has happened here also. She didnt come to the depot though, she started crying on the phone with the yardmaster. It happened twenty years ago or more, and the story still gets told in the shack.

SteelWheels21 wrote:Not to go too far OT with this, but speaking of unique RR slang, one of the better ones is when you exceed your service limits (you "died" or "you're dead"). A few years ago here, there was a guy whose train had outlawed and for some reason they couldn't get a relief crew out to the train. The guy's wife was nervous as to why he hadn't come home when he was supposed to. She managed to get ahold of the tower number, and one of the Yardmasters told her, "Oh yeah, Dick died out at Troutdale, we'll bring him in as soon as we can get someone out there". I guess a half hour later there was a hysterical woman running around the Yard Offices screaming for someone to go get her dead husband LOLOL....Advice to new guys: The first thing you have to explain to your loved ones about this job is that Fired doesn't really mean FIRED and dead doesn't really mean...well, you know (hopefully).

Another RR classic told on every property since forever.

Wow, a railroad urban legend? That's pretty cool.

OK, I've got another one that was told to us: Someone gets caught between the couplers and gets crushed. They bring the family down to the yard to say their goodbyes because once you separate the cars...well, you get the picture. Kind of like the guy who gets stabbed and is alive until the knife gets pulled out.

Anyone hear that one before?

Edited to add that Shoo-Fly pie is a gift from the gods. Great stuff.