Choo Choose the Train Slang 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Double-Header

While you may think of a double-header as two baseball games played in a row, the term came into use with trains by 1877. It was used to describe a railroad train with two engines. This was quite a cost-cutting measure as more cars could be taken on the same trip; nevertheless, it was a very controversial practice. Fewer conductors and brakemen were needed, but the other crew members had twice as much work.

Answer: Side Track

Now is NOT the time to be distracted or off topic! Not only does sidetrack relate to the auxiliary line of a train, it also is used as a verb to refer to the moving of trains from the main track to a sidetrack. This was done in order to organize the order of vehicles on a train. The railway term dates from about 1828.

Answer: Non-Stop

First used to describe trains that didn't stop while enroute to a destination in the early 1900s, today the term is closely associated with airplane flights. In the past couple of years, designers have been discussing the possibility of a new high-speed train that never stops! Passengers would wait in pods rather than on the platform, and when the train reached the station, the pod would lock on to the top of train; passengers would then descend into the train.

When the people wanted to disembark from the train, they would once again board the pod, which would be detached from the train at the appropriate station.

Answer: Make the Grade

Today the term "make the grade" is used to mean that a person has done well in school or succeeded at some task. In the early train days, it referred to going up a gradient. Of course, given a choice, a railway will prefer to travel on level ground.

Whenever a train has to climb an incline, it reduces the overall amount of tonnage that can be carried. Careful consideration of a train's destination is necessary to make sure it will be able to complete its run with the tonnage on board.

Answer: Turntable

Because steam locomotives didn't run in reverse at first, it was necessary to create turntables, which would turn them around for return trips. Once diesel locomotives were invented, they could easily travel in either direction. Turntables were also used to turn observation cars so that the windows faced the right direction. Today "turntable" is another name that is used for a record player that plays vinyl records.

Answer: Bumper

The term bumper came into use in the 1830s to refer to the buffer on a train car, which protected the train from debris that was on the track. Also called a cowcatcher, the triangular frame helped to prevent the derailing of a locomotive by pushing cows or other obstacles off the track.

Many times trains were stored bumper to bumper, and the term came to describe a fender on a motor vehicle, as well as heavy traffic on the highway.

Answer: Jerkwater

The term "jerkwater" was derived from an inferior train that wasn't on the main railroad line. It was said that the train would have to stop in towns so small that the crew would have to jerk water from the creek because there wouldn't be a water tank. Eventually the term was used for the small towns as well.

Answer: Gravy Train

In the early 1900s, gravy was slang for money or success that was easily obtained. By the 1920s, a gravy train (to crew members) was a quick run where the pay was good and they didn't have to work very hard. Now, if a person is "on the gravy train" they have a easy, good-paying job.

Answer: Schedule

By the mid-1800s, schedules were associated with predetermined timetables on a train. These schedules were taken very seriously and a written order had to be submitted in advance if the schedule was to be changed. Today, of course, schedules are connected to our calendar of daily activities.

Answer: Dead Head

The draw back to deadheading on a train was that the railroad employee traveled for free and took the spot of a paying customer. This practice, also called dead mileage or dead running, was done for logistical reasons to transport crew members where they were needed. A common word still used today in the airline industry, a Dead Head can also be a music fan of the "Grateful Dead".