Slip Switch Track

Sounds like you should be speaking German, where words mean what they mean, and hte language is basically static.

Up here, we've learned to adapt and change. Besides, jargon is an accepted form of communication, and railway workers in the US know what a consist is, just as they have no need to know what the function of a plate-layer is. After all, why would we need to lay a plate? Sounds like something that would require a table spread...

I know what is meant by "consist", and so do you. If you don't, all you have to do is ask - that's why we're here...welll, most of us, anyway.

Don't bother to reply via email...I've been JoeJobbed.

...while in New Zealand, English usage remains impeccable, if am I reading you correctly. (By the way, do you really hyphenate "nonsensical" in NZ?)

Sure it is... but if you're going to claim that a term is incorrect as used by U.S. railways, then at least refer to the U.S. definition of the word.

You are attempting to reason with the clown who declared the US was violating the law by "flying" in the Iraqi "No Fly" Zone. His penchant for pedantic drivel is truly astounding. At first I thought it was deliberate and contrived but, I have come to believe it's just who he is. He seems to go in cycles so I'm guessing his meds get out of balance.

Remember, killfiles are your friend.

Paul

Err well, I read it.

That's nice, but we don't all live in the one country but some things are becoming "international".

It's basically rubbish. Fine perhaps if you have a narrow life and never look outside it's confines.

The "plate" in question is actually a plate - it's a steel plate that sits between the rail and the sleeper (or tie) to extend the life of the sleeper and give the rail a more solid foundation.

There's the advantage of giving things names that reflect their function, you can figure out what they are from the name!

Yes of course I know the meaning of consist, but the first time I came across it I did not know, the meaning didn't leap out even in context (Model Railroader) and there was no internet.

I keep a watch on this ng in the hope of learning something.

Who? What? Where? Which? How?

No, but I at least now live in the world, not just in a narrow society where eveyone knows what everyone else means by a small sequence of grunts.

That depends upon the emphasis I'm intending when I write the word - think about the difference between "nonsensical" and "non-sensical".

Regards, Greg.P.

Did I say the term was _incorrect/wrong_ as used by US railways or did I say the word was _non-sensical_?

Regards, Greg.P.

...thus demonstrating his wide experience and knowledge of everything contained within the wide world...

Don't bother to reply via email...I've been JoeJobbed.

So go file yourself, Paul. The discussion about the Shah of Iraq was a joke on a number of idiots who claimed to be vastly more knowledgeable on the subject of the ME - they took 18 months to notice my ongoing joke.

The broad point I am attempting to make is that jargon is fine in narrow circles or groups, not so good in international forums. The specific point I was making is that the word "consist" does not describe the item it is applied to and is therefore basically meaningless to those outside the specific jargon clique.

Your point seems to be that I irritate you because you don't like to think and therefore you advocate pulling your head back under your rock where the light can't penetrate.

Regards, Greg.P.

Thus Jeff SC. demonstrates his complete inability to answer simple and basic questions.

"Table spread"

Fine perhaps if you have a narrow life and never look

For someone who professes to be a stickler for correct usage, it would be nice if you learned that the possessive "its" has no apostrophe.

Also, although "currently" is now an accepted meaning for "presently," that has come about through common (mis)usage; the traditional meaning of the word is "soon."

-- Bill McC.

You wrote that the term was incorrect as used by US railways. news: snipped-for-privacy@ihug.co.nz

That's a pretty assessment of my grammatical abilities.

I did not profess to be a stickler for correct usage, I professed to be annoyed by non-descriptive names being applied to objects and actions and also by inappropriate use of jargon in an international forum.

Regards, Greg.P.

Could we go with what I intended to write?

CAN WE GET BACK TO SLIP SWITCH TRACK OR LEAVE THIS GROUP?

Jim Stewart

The term 'platelayers' originated long before the steel plates you describe came into use. It comes from the pre-railway era of 'plateways'. Check up on your early railway history eg the 'Surrey Iron Railway' and 'Peak Forest Tramway'. The plates were the cast iron pieces that spanned between stone blocks to keep cart wheels out of the mud and ruts thus greatly increasing the haulage efficiency of a horse. Shows how names stick from past activity and thus bear no relation to the current function. Similar story for 'Navvies'.

Keith Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

Yeah -- like slip switches are the *only* thing that can be discussed on rec.models.railroad.

We have an international group here, but also a model railroad group. I expect any group to use their own jargon so I can expect general usage jargon and slang *as well as* railroad terms from various countries.

As an American, I don't generally know what terms are unfamiliar to people from other countries, so how am I going to use universally understood terminology, even if it exists?

As far as using descriptive terms goes: I worked as a switchman for a full-sized railroad at one time and the diesel shop was called the "roundhouse" by everyone who worked there, although it was certainly not round. Should I explain to everyone, now, why it was called the "roundhouse?"

I think this forum is all the more interesting because of the diversity of language, and I've learned a lot from it.

A different Paul, Paul Welsh

Incorrect. Humans have SEVERAL interconnected holes and internal passages. More like a swiss cheese.

Dan Mitchell ==========

David P Harris wrote: