RE: (erielack) Roustabouts, Drills, Locals, etc.

["Paul R. Tupaczewski" <paultup_@_optonline.net>]

Mike Riley asks:

> Rostabout was a Lackawanna term for a traveling switcher

Roustabout was indeed a Lackawanna term for an extended-distance
switching turn.

 
> Was there a term on the Erie side?  I thought I saw one of 
> the post mention 
> a drill was an Erie term?  Or have I spent too much time in 
> the archives?

"Drill" or "Haul" were both used on the Erie for a local drill.

 
> and also someone quoted from a Taber Book:
> Tabor defined the terms as: "A roustabout performed work at several 
> communitites whereas a drill worked at one town." (Vol 2 DL&W in 20th 
> Century; p247)

And that's quite correct.

 
> That said I found some examples of some roustabout and 
> drills: The Dover Drill Silver Lake Drill Totowa Roustabout and so on.

Ah, this is where it gets weird. In EL days, the terms were interchanged
and there really wasn't much of a rhyme or reason:

* The Dover Drill served Dover, yes, but also went down the Morris &
Essex and worked industries there and on the Gladstone Branch. Dover
Roustabout might havd been more appropriate!
* Silver Lake Drill worked in the area of the Orange Branch, but also
headed west a bit on the Boonton Line.
* Totowa Roustabout came out of Croxton and pretty much worked the
Totowa Industrial and returned. My guess on the name: The Totowa
Industrial is ex-DL&W, so maybe that's why they used DL&W naming
conventions?

 
> Finally, some off-line discussions with "people-in-the-know" 
> some locals had 
> train symbols.  So, my questions are:
> 1) after the merger I imagine that the DLW side still called them 
> Roustabouts?  and if I am correct that a drill was an Erie 
> term that they 
> still called them drills?

No, the Boonton Roustabout became the Boonton Drill. The Erie side still
called 'em drills and hauls.


> 2) Are drills, locals, roustabouts the same thing.  That is 
> they serviced 
> local businesses from a yard or some central location?

Essentially.

> 3) were these locals symboled or did they not use a 
> designation and just use 
> their name such as Dover Drill?

I believe all the locals had a number designation (the NJ&NY local,
affectionately called "The Hayshaker", was Train #1671, for example),
but more often than not, the crews used shorthand (the second Dover
drill was simply called "the second Dover")


	- Paul

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