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Why are rail fans called Foamers?

“Foamers” is how railroad employees refer to railfans because they think we “foam” at the mouth anytime we see a train. To them, railroading is just a job. To us, it's a passion.



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“Foamers” is how railroad employees refer to railfans because they think we “foam” at the mouth anytime we see a train. To them, railroading is just a job. To us, it's a passion.

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In the United States, they can be referred to pejoratively as foamers. There is a dispute over the origin of this term.

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Brass Hat. Slang term for conductor; also for President or boss of a rail line.

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The term foamer started out as a derogatory term used by railroaders to describe a railfan. But, in the past few years within the industry, at least here where I work, it's not always used in the negative context.

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From the 1730s engineer in North American English was being used as a synonym for engineman, she says, applied specifically to the driver or operator of a fire engine, then later to drivers of steamships and steam-powered locomotives.

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The conductor title is most common in North American railway operations, but the role is common worldwide under various job titles. In Commonwealth English, a conductor is also known as guard or train manager. A conductor on an Amtrak train.

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He was a hobo, part of an American tradition that emerged after the Civil War: transient laborers who rode the rails and found short-term work along the way.

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The average train driver salary in London is £58,795, with experienced professionals in the region having salaries that often exceed £69,000, while train driver salaries in Scotland start at £38,194 for newly qualified drivers, rising to £48,360 after the probation period has ended.

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In the US, they're called “train engineers”. In the UK and other English-speaking countries, I believe they're called “train operators”.

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