A drag lumbers along with heavy tonnage and little horsepower per ton, and it gets put in the hole for nearly everything. Coal loads, ballast trains and long strings of empties all earn the name. Crews on a drag plan their meal breaks around sitting in sidings, and an engineer with years on drags knows every grade and sag on the division by feel.
Called for the empty coal drag to the mine again, see you in twelve hours if we make it that far.
Also heard as
- drag freight
- tonnage train
Do not mix it up with
- Hotshot: A hotshot sits at the other end of the priority scale: fast, light and first in line at every meet.
Related terms
Unit train
A train carrying a single commodity in identical cars from one origin to one destination.
In the hole
In the siding, waiting for another train to pass on the main line.
Run eight
Running a diesel locomotive in its highest throttle notch, wide open.
Rattler
Hobo and old-head slang for a freight train, especially one banging along with its slack running in and out.