What is the slang for train riders?


What is the slang for train riders? The term hobo is a loose one used to define everything from happy-go-lucky train hoppers to large homeless communities (and sometimes derogatorily so). But in its most popular definition, itinerant workers traveling the country by train use the word to describe themselves and their unique and intentional lifestyle.


What is the nickname for railroad workers?

Foamers - name given by train crews for people who gathered along the railroad tracks to watch adn wayve at trains. Gandy Dancer - Name give to a railroad track worker.


What is it called when you hitchhike on a train?

Train surfing (also known as train hopping or train hitching) is the act of riding on the outside of a moving train, tram or other forms of rail transport.


What does benching the train mean?

The term 'Benching' was coined in New York in the 1970's by graffiti writers. The bench is a place graffiti writers gather to watch trains.


What is the secret hobo code?

According to the code, a drawing of a cat indicated that a kind woman lived in the hours, while a cross mean that hobos could expect to receive food at the end of a sermon and shovels revealed that work was available. Meanwhile, circles and arrows would indicate directions hobos were better off traveling in.


Why do trains honk 3 times?

If you hear, two small horns, it means the motorman is asking the guard to direct the railway signal to start the train. In case you hear three smaller horns, it suggests that the motorman has lost control over the train. This also acts as a signal to pull the vacuum break immediately. This signal is rarely heard.


What is a hobo on a train?

He was a hobo, part of an American tradition that emerged after the Civil War: transient laborers who rode the rails and found short-term work along the way.


What is a railway bull?

Called “bulls,” these unofficially deputized men are hired by various railroad companies to protect trains from the shady characters of the farthest outreaches of the vast American West. These are not law-abiding citizens. Nor are they well-trained, like the Pinkerton agents.


What is the first car of a train called?

What is the first car on a train called? The engine is the first car on a freight train, and the last car is usually the caboose. Besides being last, the other feature of a caboose is its use by the crew.


What is a railroad boss called?

Conductor. In charge of train in its entirety, and of the train crew at large.