“Did You Know”

BIG FOUR:  The four operating Brotherhoods: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Order of Railway Conductors, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

BRASS COLLAR or BRASS HAT:  Railroad official. Term may have originated from gold-braided collar of conductor’s uniform and brass plate on his cap.

DUTCH DROP:  Rarely used method of bringing a car onto the main line from a spur. The engine heads into the spur, couples head-on to the car, and backs out. When the car is moving fast enough the engine is cut off, speeds up to get back on the main line before the car, then moves forward ahead of the junction between the main line and the spur so the car rolls out behind the engine.

GREEN EYE:  Clear signal. (At the time Cy Warman wrote his celebrated poem, “I Hope the Lights Are White,” the clear signal was white and green meant caution. This was changed years ago because of the fact that when a red or green signal lens broke or fell out it exposed a white, thus giving a clear board to engineers even though the signal itself was set to stop or go slow).