>> Today, having just made a joint, I was sitting in the cab of the Alco
>> and looking about. The NYC still exists!
>>Andre Ming
> Don said:
> I thought smokin' drugs while workin' on the railroad
> was illegal these days !!!! Perhaps I missed something ??? <VBG>
Correct you are, Don.
As mentioned in a PM, I suspected that some of you might find that piece of
regional jargon a bit questionable. I assure you, all was well. We were
making a coupling. Having railroaded in this region in 3 different states,
several different RR companies, and many Sub Divisions... I recall mainly
hearing the following used in reference to a coupling:
Joint
Coupling
Hook
Knuckle
As in: "Back 'em up four to a hook." (Or, replace "hook" with one of the
above.)
"Hook" is what I heard most when working in Arkansas down near the
Louisianna border. "Joint" is what I hear locally, as well as "knuckle".
I've also heard "coupling" and "joint" when working out in western Kansas
and western/central/and NE Oklahoma.
RR jargon is typically quite regional and when you cross big regions you
sometimes don't fully understand some of the terms.
Then there is the dialect issue.
I don't know if you've ever been to America, Don, but if you haven't, it's
hard to fathom just how bad we have completely and hopelessly slaughtered
the language of proper English. In most cases, it hasn't been
intentional... it's just happened over the centuries. Within America, there
are SOOOOO many "dialects" of "English"... that we sometimes can't
communicate effectively without explanation. Seriously.
For example:
Way too many moons ago, when I was but a young hillbilly, I drove an
over-road-truck for a couple of years. I was in a very different part of
the US, and a asked local at a truck stop a very simple question. Said local
heard this:
"Wher'do I worship at?"
His reponse:
"There's a church up the street."
My explanation:
"No, I mean, where kin I take uh shower?"
Pitiful.
This also extends into the railroading world. Different dialects AND
different terms.
Here a while back I worked with a guy from Wisconsin, and early on we had to
explain our terms to one another several times. By necessity, I had to
learn some of the Yankee jargon/terms! We won't get into the additional
communicational challenges afforded by my Okie/Ozark dialect and his
Wisconsin accent. Needless to say, it would have been comical to sit and
listen to a scanner while we two tried to communciate over the radio.
Andre
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