The word comes from ball signals, where a ball hoisted high on a mast told the engineer the line was clear. Crews give a highball by radio when a train is ready to depart, and conductors highball the engineer after an inspection. As a verb it means to run fast or leave in a hurry: a train highballing across the plains is running at track speed.
Heard on the job
Inspection's complete on the rear, no defects, highball when you're ready.
Also heard as
- highballing
- highball it
Related terms
Yellow board
An approach signal showing yellow, warning the engineer to be ready to stop at the next signal.
Hotshot
A high-priority train on a tight schedule that dispatchers move ahead of almost everything else.
Set and release
Applying the train's air brakes and then releasing them, the basic sequence of every air brake test.