by Mike Reeves
The westbound Carolina Special (Train No. 9) battling Saluda Mountain, near Saluda, N.C., on June 26, 1949, with Mountain-type locomotive No. 1490 (4-8-2, ALCO-Richmond, 1919) on the head end and Santa Fe-type No. 5047 (2-10-2, Baldwin, 1918) helping from the rear. Shared from saludadepotmuseum.org
I find myself saying things like: “Hurricane Helene recovery efforts are a train wreck.” We who live in Saluda know about train wrecks. There were many on the Saluda Grade before the two runaway tracks were installed in 1903.
Often, I want to blow off steam. The Idioms.com website says that the meaning is to get rid of any intense feelings or strong emotions; to engage in activities that help relieve stress or tension, usually by venting emotions or frustrations; and to experience a psychological release by expressing emotions or engaging in certain activities. The article goes on to say that the expression “blow off steam” originates from a comparison to the pressure release valve commonly found in steam engines. Steam engines required the buildup of pressurized steam to operate properly. But they needed a way, a valve, to let out the extra pressure and prevent catastrophic effects from occurring. Hence, people started the usage of this expression in their regular lives, correlating the importance for human beings to let go of their very own emotional pressures to maneuver through life peacefully.
Technically, you could argue that to “blow off steam” is a phrase that refers to all steam engines, not just railroad steam engines. But to me, it is a railroad term. As a child standing near a steam engine and the engineer yells, “Blow down,” my mom would grab my hand, and we would move back out of the way. The engine appeared to explode into a cloud of white steam coming from below the wheels and engulfing it. The sound was ear-shattering. After learning that if I stayed out of the way, it wouldn’t hurt me, I loved to watch that big machine be swallowed up in a white cloud and hear that ear-shattering sound that accompanied it.
If you go to the ball game, another commonly used phrase is “doubleheader.” Today, it means a pair of games played in succession on the same day, usually by the same teams. Years ago, a doubleheader meant a train with two steam engines, now two diesel engines. It often took doubleheader engines to get up the Saluda Grade. In addition, the railroad kept another engine, called a “pusher engine,” in Melrose at the base of the mountain of challenge. The train was divided into sections. This pusher engine was attached to the last car to push a train unit up the steep grade. After the train cars crested the grade in Saluda, the main engine or engines and the pusher engine detached from the cars and returned to Melrose to push the remainder of the train up the grade. It could take more than two hours to rejoin the train and get it on its way.
Another term is “deadbeat.” Today, it means a person who regularly fails to pay his/her debts, lets someone else pay their way, or fails to carry their share of the load. The word was coined when railroad workers noticed that loaded freight cars made a different beat over the track joint than cars that weren’t carrying a load. The sound that empty cars made was called a deadbeat, meaning the workers could hear that this car was not paying its way; it’s just there, no revenue being earned.
Come by, talk railroad lingo with a docent at the Saluda Depot Museum. It is open from April to December, Thursdays through Saturdays from 12 noon to 4 pm, and on Sundays from 1 to 4 pm. Private tours may be arranged on days the Depot is closed by contacting me, Mike Reeves, Board Chairman (mwrwood@gmail.com or 828-674-9598) or emailing Nita High, Tour and Special Project Coordinator (nitahigh@rsnet.org). The museum, admission is always free. The museum receives no government funds; it depends solely on fundraising and visitors’ donations.