by nyandw
Robert Emery refers to newbies as "spears" when he joined the LIRR as a trainee back in 1943. Any ideas the derivation?
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What is "spears"?
- Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Moderator: Liquidcamphor
by northpit
meaning the person was "green" like broccolli. this term was still being tossed around in the 1990's.Green used to be used as a term to describe new or unexperienced
put it on the north pit
by workextra
Both terms are still used interchangeably.
The spear was also the stick used to change the signs on the platform or so it’s been said so by some.
In recent times the spear is the red flag that new trainman have to carry.
“We got a spear brakeman”
Usually a new/unqualified trainman.
The spear was also the stick used to change the signs on the platform or so it’s been said so by some.
In recent times the spear is the red flag that new trainman have to carry.
“We got a spear brakeman”
Usually a new/unqualified trainman.
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by nyandw
Thanks Folks! I'll add this info to the LIRR slang page: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/Slang/lirrslang.htm
Further Emery autobiography reading indicates: "...originated with the guard jobs that manned the 1939-40 NY World's Fair twelve car shuttles. Guards were needed on these trains to open and close the "air" side doors..."
I would gather these new employees drew this duty as "spears".
Further Emery autobiography reading indicates: "...originated with the guard jobs that manned the 1939-40 NY World's Fair twelve car shuttles. Guards were needed on these trains to open and close the "air" side doors..."
I would gather these new employees drew this duty as "spears".
by nyandw
Speaking of slang stories, here's one: From Bill Dunbar, a Train Dispatcher off the Alton RR/GM&O. (You almost need to have worked as a brakeman to understand some of the terms...)
Reminds me of something similar I read in RAILROAD STORIES many years ago. I don't have it verbatim, but it had to do with a boomer brakeman who was hurt in a yard accident:
A nurse at the hospital was starting his chart and asked what happened. "Well, we had just come in off the main stem and we put the train away in the garden. I was taking the hog to the barn, and we was comin' down the ladder, and there was a gate some Snake left against us. I got down to bend the iron, and right then a goat came down the next alley and clipped me."
The nurse wrote on the chart, "Farmer hurt handling livestock."
Reminds me of something similar I read in RAILROAD STORIES many years ago. I don't have it verbatim, but it had to do with a boomer brakeman who was hurt in a yard accident:
A nurse at the hospital was starting his chart and asked what happened. "Well, we had just come in off the main stem and we put the train away in the garden. I was taking the hog to the barn, and we was comin' down the ladder, and there was a gate some Snake left against us. I got down to bend the iron, and right then a goat came down the next alley and clipped me."
The nurse wrote on the chart, "Farmer hurt handling livestock."
by ErnieM
Would someone please translate this for me?
"A nurse at the hospital was starting his chart and asked what happened. "Well, we had just come in off the main stem and we put the train away in the garden. I was taking the hog to the barn, and we was comin' down the ladder, and there was a gate some Snake left against us. I got down to bend the iron, and right then a goat came down the next alley and clipped me."
"A nurse at the hospital was starting his chart and asked what happened. "Well, we had just come in off the main stem and we put the train away in the garden. I was taking the hog to the barn, and we was comin' down the ladder, and there was a gate some Snake left against us. I got down to bend the iron, and right then a goat came down the next alley and clipped me."
by NaugyRR
ErnieM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:40 pm Would someone please translate this for me?
ErnieM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:40 pmWell, we had just come in off the main stem and we put the train away in the garden.We pulled the train off the main line and uncoupled the locomotive from the train in the yard
ErnieM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:40 pmI was taking the hog to the barn, and we was comin' down the ladder, and there was a gate some Snake left against us.We were taking the locomotive to the engine house/storage track, and as we were traversing the [series of switches known as] the ladder tracks, we came across a switch lined improperly from a move by a previous train
ErnieM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:40 pmI got down to bend the iron, and right then a goat came down the next alley and clipped me.I got off the locomotive to throw the switch, and not paying attention to the adjacent track, got hit by a yard switcher passing close by
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