Bill et al
I think that Hol has adequately handled the matter of differentiation between what you called "put put" cars and the "gas electric" PMC's No one in the railroad industry would have confused the two different machines both referred to as "motor cars" As one not skilled in the art of interpretation or exegesis, but who is somewhat familiar with the principles thereof I would be familiar with the principle that says.."Context determines meaning.
Pete
-----Original Message-----
From: William Barber <clipperw@gmail.com>
To: CBQ <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 13, 2014 10:13 am
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Digest Number 5767
Pete and John,
While motor car may have been the official name, these vehicle had all sorts of nick names, some not so gracious, used by real railroads. Among them were putt-putt, track-maintenance car, crew car, jigger, trike, quad, trolley or inspection car. I personally know that some Q railroaders around Chicago called them putt putts.
Now, if you call those machines motor cars, what do you call a gas electric car such as no. 9844 or 9845? Those were also called motor cars as well as doodlebugs, etc.
It's just semantics and local vernacular. Until the railfans coined it, I never heard of a diesel locomotive consist referred to as a lash up and I worked many years for a company that built some of them.
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
Sun Jan 12, 2014 4:15 am (PST) . Posted by:Oiling track bars, etc. was a standard maintenance issue. The Fairmont Motor
Company made/sold equipment for this task. Basically a tank mounted on a
speeder trailer, pulled by a Fairmont speeder. Had a pump and wands for
spraying oil. See attached photos. From the photos Bill shared, it appears
the CB&Q just did it on a bigger scale.
Doug Harding
www.iowacentralrr.org
Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:16 am (PST) . Posted by:Just a couple of comments, I want to make. I realize most on the list are not railroaders, but I never heard a real life railroader (at least a M of W railroader) refer to a motor car as a "speeder" nor did I ever hear a push car called a "speeder trailer" . Some may have but not to me. This is not anything in the way of a correction as we all know what you are talking about. It is just my observation as one who was around when there were a lot of motor cars in use. And before you say, that I used the term in BB #35, that was added by someone else.
On Sunday, January 12, 2014 6:16 AM, Douglas Harding <doug.harding@iowacentralrr.org> wrote:
Oiling track bars, etc. was a standard maintenance issue. The Fairmont Motor Company made/sold equipment for this task. Basically a tank mounted on a speeder trailer, pulled by a Fairmont speeder. Had a pump and wands for spraying oil. See attached photos. From the photos Bill shared, it appears the CB&Q just did it on a bigger scale.
Doug Harding
www.iowacentralrr.org
Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:00 am (PST) . Posted by:John—I agree with you on the "motor car" term. Used to work in the Chicago and North Western's Engineering Department and they were called motor cars there. The things were long gone by the time I started in 1978 but there were still motor car houses (the official name for the buildings) along the right-of-way. Also, a friend in the engineering office started with the CNW in 1969 and said they did have motor cars then, and that's what he called them, including the Soo Line versions that they were using into the 1980s (I saw one of the Soo units in action at Eau Claire, Wisc. while I was restaking the CNW-SOO diamond).
When I was working on the tie gang in 1983 the little trailer cars ("push cars") that were formerly pulled by motor cars (and later by hi-rail trucks or track machines) were called "dumpies." Our tamper pulled a dumpy loaded with replacement tie plates, and one of my tasks was to load plates at the beginning of the day, and then peddle them as needed. Some of the existing plates were cracked or bent so they needed to be replaced. And, some plates just got lost in the weeds when the old ties were removed!
Kurt Hayek
Kurt Hayek
Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:56 pm (PST) . Posted by:John
Just before I read your message, below, I was sitting here thinking about asking what you and I could do about these continuing references to a MOTOR CAR as a speeder...Like you I never ever heard the term "speeder" used before I came to the "railfan world
Guys, please for the sake of us old guys ie John an Pete...could we please refer to any of what is known in real railroad parlance as a Track car by it's proper term. These things are MOTOR CARS....The term "Speeder" marks you out as a railfan without a knowledge of "real railroading....
Pete
__._,_.___ ![]()
__,_._,___
|