The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-10
RAILROAD MECHANICS.
TERsE NOMENCLATURE OF VARIOUS
BIG RAILWAY LINES.

roads Are Twisted and Abbreviated.
why Some of the Names Are So APP
pIied-The Steve Conmittee-
4 gentleman of an inquiring turn OF
mind asked Chauncey NJ. pepew some
time ago how many railroad nicknames
ident blandly replied, "Just as many as
you have mind to make"
But how many do you knowi" persisted
the questioner.
'Well, have heard the Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne and Chicago road called Paddy
Finnigan's Wife and Children" said Mr..
Depew; but really, if you want a list Of
railroad nicknames / should not dare
undertake to make one out"
Other well known railroad men were So
licited TO furnish the desired information,
but in each case inability to encompass the
subject was pleaded. II have heard, said
one of these gentlemen, that the nick
name Nickel Plate was given to the New
York, Chicago and St. Louis railroad sy
William H. Vanderbilt when he bought it.
He was grumbEng at the price he had to
pay, and remarked, Why, if the Internal
road was nickel plated it couldn't cost
much more
Failing to obtain all the information de-
sired from the railroad presidents, the in
quirer turned his attention TO the general
managers. In the ranks of those indis-
pensable functionaries was one man who
actually became interested in the subject.
He said genially, Il cannot tell you much
n my own authority, but between our
selves and the stove committed l think
we can make up list"
THE ''srovB COMMITTEES" LIST.
The ''stove committee" he explained, is
the source of all railroad information for
which no railroad officer is willing to be
directly responsible. There is a "stove
committee" connected with every railroad.
It keeps watch of things, discusses internal
and external policies, criticises the officers
Of the road, and passes ont to the world
through devious AMI uatraceable ways
''tips" of what IS going 60 happen.
If an unpopular officer or agent of rail-
road company is about to be removed or
transferred to some post less desirable than
the one he has occupied, be generally
gets his first inform alton abort IL from the
mysterious "stove commit ' A con-
spicuous illustration of this ac1 may bs
cited in the case of Charles Francis Adams,
who was deposed from the presidency of
Che Union Pacific. The news OF his pros
pective fate, which was waited into the
Office of The Times from the well posted
"stove committee" met with repeated de-
malls from Mr.. Adams, but he was finally
obliged to admit its correctness.
But to return to the list of railroad nick
names The "stove committee" cOnjured
up by the genial general manager evolved
she following list:
Big Four-The Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Chicago and St. Louis railroad.
Nickel PIate-New York, Chicago and
st. Louis.
The Soo-Minneapolis, st. Paul and
Sault Ste. Marie.
MISUNDERSTANDING, Cincinnati and
st. Louis
Queen and Crescent-Cincinnati, New
Orleans and Texas Pacific.
Monon-Louisville, New Albany and
Chicago
Nypano-New York, Pennsylvania and
Ohio
Maple Leaf--Chicago, St. Paul and Kan
sas City.
Clover Leaf-Toledo, St. Louis and Kan
sas City.
Cotton Belt--St. Louis, Arkansas and
Texas.
Blue Grass-The Kentucky Central road.
The SUnset-Southern Pacific railway.
The Consolidated-NeW York, New
Haven and Hartford.
Katie-Missouri, Kansas and Texas.
Big ndy-Elizabethtown, Lexington
and Big Sandy.
SIGNIFICANCE OF TEE NAMES.
UTT- IL
most in use In addition to these there is
8 very large number of authorizations OF
the names of railroads which are part of
the railroad parlance Of the day. There is
the Central, for the New York Central and
Hudson River road; West Shore, for the
New York, West Shore and Buffalo; Erie,
for New York, Lake Erie and Western;
Lackawanna, for Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western; Santa Fe, for Atchison, To-
peks and Santa Fe; the Frisco, for st.
Louis and San Francisco; r. T., for Rich
mond and West Point Terminal; Lake
Shore, for Lake Shore and Michigan South
ern; R w. O., for Rome, WATERFOWL and
Ogdensburg, and the Plant system for the
Florida and Western and the
Charleston and Savannah roads. There
are many others that the 'stove commit
tee" could not remember at the moment.
The Buffalo and Southwestern, which was
at first abbreviated to b. and 5. W, is now
known locally as Brandy and Soda Wa
ter" and the Buffalo and jamestown rail.
road is Familiarity spoken of as THE jim /
town"
Most of the nieknames are significant Of .
some peculiar feature or character Of the /
railroad systems 20 which they are applied |
For instance, the Big Four is applied to /
q system formed by the consolidation Of 1
four roads-viz., the Cincinnati, Indianap- 4
oils, St. Louis and Chicago; the Cleveland, :
Cincinnati and Indianapolis; .
the indianapolis and st. Louis, and the 4
Cairo Fincen1es and Chicago line The .
Maple Leaf is appropriate because line .
drawn around tie various points 70 which I
the Chicago, st. PAUL and Kansas City runs (
outlines 4 maple leaf. The Clover Leaf fits i
the same reason
The Kentucky Central is called the Blue /
Grass because il runs through the blue .
grass region. The Queen and Crescent 4
describes the Cincinnati, New Orleans and I
Texas Pacific, inasmuch as Cincinnati is
called the Queen City and New Orleans
the Crescent City. The Nypsno Is simply
3 condensed abbreviation Of New York,
Pennsylvania and Ohio, as y. Z, T. and o.
The 800" takes It's name from the Ssult
Ste. Marie, and ti> Monon applies because
K Is the main junction On the line of the
Louisville, New Albany and Chicago
New York Times