Sean R Das
Railfan
Hello. I bet I'm not the only railfan who is embarrased or offended when people with no knowledge of railroading whatsoever misuse railroad jargon. Here are some examples:
The Term "Train"
In its true definition, the term "railroad train" refers to a series of cars (note the plural!) pulled by a locomotive (or self-propelled railcar). As far as the railroad itself is concerned, a true "train" is a locomotive and cars in service. In fact, in the "classic" era of railroading, a train was not even considered a real train unless it had a caboose or carried red marker lamps on the rear car.
However, when most people say train, they're using the term to loosely (and incorrectly) refer to anything that runs on rails--even if what they are describing is a single locomotive or car. I don't know about the rest of you, but this misuse has annoyed me till kingdom come! The only exception applies to self-propelled railcars--Doodlebugs, Budd RDC's, DMU's and such--while a single railcar itself is not a true "train," if nit is providing passenger service it still counts as a true "train" as it is in service.
Engineer vs. Conductor
There seems to be some confusion among average joes between the terms "engineer" and "conductor." In their true definitions, an engineer drives a locomotive; while a conductor is part fare enforcement officer, part customer-service worker, part office-worker, and part security guard--the fact that the conductor is a train's security guard makes perfect sense since the term for a conductor on UK and UK-influenced rail systems is "guard."
However, to the lay person, the term "train conductor" would suggest a locomotive driver rather than a guard, possibly misleading some passengers into thinking their train's driver is the man walking down the aisles and inspecting tickets, leaving nobody at the controls or keeping a llokout at the track ahead!
The Term "Train"
In its true definition, the term "railroad train" refers to a series of cars (note the plural!) pulled by a locomotive (or self-propelled railcar). As far as the railroad itself is concerned, a true "train" is a locomotive and cars in service. In fact, in the "classic" era of railroading, a train was not even considered a real train unless it had a caboose or carried red marker lamps on the rear car.
However, when most people say train, they're using the term to loosely (and incorrectly) refer to anything that runs on rails--even if what they are describing is a single locomotive or car. I don't know about the rest of you, but this misuse has annoyed me till kingdom come! The only exception applies to self-propelled railcars--Doodlebugs, Budd RDC's, DMU's and such--while a single railcar itself is not a true "train," if nit is providing passenger service it still counts as a true "train" as it is in service.
Engineer vs. Conductor
There seems to be some confusion among average joes between the terms "engineer" and "conductor." In their true definitions, an engineer drives a locomotive; while a conductor is part fare enforcement officer, part customer-service worker, part office-worker, and part security guard--the fact that the conductor is a train's security guard makes perfect sense since the term for a conductor on UK and UK-influenced rail systems is "guard."
However, to the lay person, the term "train conductor" would suggest a locomotive driver rather than a guard, possibly misleading some passengers into thinking their train's driver is the man walking down the aisles and inspecting tickets, leaving nobody at the controls or keeping a llokout at the track ahead!
