Slang Collected by the Railway Carload

Steve, a singer-songwriter from Rock Springs, Wyoming, shares some slang he picked up while months riding the rails and busking. Spanging refers to panhandling, from asking for “spare change.” The term bull refers to a type of security guard. Riding junk refers to traveling on a slow train. The pusher engine is called the Cadillac. The book On the Fly!: Hobo Literature and Songs, 1879–1941 (Bookshop|Amazon) edited by Iain McIntyre is a fine collection of stories, poems, songs, and articles from and about that subculture. This is part of a complete episode.