STANDING AT THE PEG, BOBBY
A glossary of
signalling slang
by John Hinson
"Standing at the peg, Bobby" means quite a bit to a signalman, but the layman could not possibly have a clue as to what it might mean.
This glossary explains the meanings of terms like this, giving information (where possible) as to how the terms came about. Many terms are regional, and often stem back to pre-grouping days and vary between former company's territories.
I would welcome any suggested additions to this section, but I would stress that this is a general glossary and I do not intend to include very localised jargon.
| Ask-on, or Ask the road |
To offer on a train to the next box. | Common |
| Back board (or Back-'un) | Distant signal | Great Northern and Great Western |
| Back shift | Afternoon, or late turn of duty | North Eastern |
| Bang road | A wrong direction movement | London & North Western |
| Be ready | The offering of a train to the next box on the block bell. | Great Northern and elsewhere. Probably dates back to older systems of block working, where an approaching train was just "announced" as comong by the previous signalman. |
| Block on block or Block to block |
Example: "The trains are running block to block" See On the block |
General |
| Board | Signal. Dates back to the original term of Caution Boards of the 1840s. | Great Northern/Great Western |
| Bobby | Signalman. Dates back to pre-Absolute Block days, when railway policemen were responsible for the signalling of trains. The name Bobby for policemen goes back to when Sir Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police force. | Universal |
| Clear back | Send "Train out of section" | Common |
| Days | Early, or morning turn. Example: "I'm on days next week". | Common |
| Dike | To loop a train for regulating purposes. | Widespread (Eastern Region?) |
| Dodd (or Tommy Dodd) | Shunt signal | Great Eastern |
| Dolly | Shunt signal | Great Northern |
| Dummy | Shunt signal | Common, particularly on former LMR and WR lines |
| Front shift | Early, or morning turn | North Eastern |
| Going round the corner | Train passing onto a branch line | Common |
| Heater | Hot axle-box on wagon | Scotland |
| Hot box | Hot axle-box on wagon | Common |
| Knock out | Send "Train out of Section" | Common - stems from original type of pegging instrument, where the peg was removed to release the commutator. |
| Off the road | Train derailed | Universal |
| One-in | Admitting a train to an occupied section on Permissive Block | Western region. Refers to their use of 1 beat to accept a train into an occupied section. |
| One-on | Train expected | Common. Term also often used by track staff. |
| On the block, or block'n block |
Train waiting at signal box for previous train to clear. Example: "I've been on the block all morning" | Universal |
| On the deck, on the dirt, on the floor. on Old England, or tanning the ballast* |
Train derailed (* - specifically for a freight train derailed at speed) |
Common |
| Peg | Signal | Common, particularly on former LMR lines |
| Peg up, or Peg over |
To change the block instrument to "Line Clear", or "Train on Line" | Common - refers to "pegging" block instruments. |
| Pull off | To clear a signal | Common |
| Put away, or put inside | Divert a train to a Goods Loop or shunt to a Refuge Siding | Common |
| Stick | Signal | Underground railways |
| Taken at half-price | Acceptance of train into occupied section on Permissive Block lines | Lincoln area (and elsewhere?) |
| Taken at the bells | Acceptance of a train under the Warning Arrangement (Regulation 5). | Lincoln area (and elsewhere?) |
| Tommy Dodd | see Dodd | . |
| Top shift | Night turn of duty | North Eastern |
| Turn in | Divert a train from to the Slow or Goods lines | Common |
| Turn out | Divert a train onto the main or fast line | Common |
| Under the hammer | Acceptance of a train under the Warning Arrangement (Regulation 5). Relates to the hammer-shaped subsidiary signals used by the Midland Railway | Midland Railway |
| Walking my legs off | Grumbles about the signalman in an adjacent box that keeps calling you back to the bell instead of dealing with two or more matters on the bell at once. | |
| Warn on | Offer a train to the next box on the block bell | Southern Region, mostly. |
| Wrong road | A wrong-direction movement | Common |
Additional notes by Steve Gwinnett, Dave Harris, Dave Hawkins, David Smith, Tim Lockley, Adrian Vaughan and Bob Wright