Why do railroad workers wear overalls

Being sure to wear the new one to break in over the winter so that they would be cooler in the summer as they wore out.. Some of my friends wore the bibs, mostly from the old schoooolll ex steamers. It really depended on the type of job.

If I knew I would be working in the air room repairing air brake equipment, I wore old street clothes. If I was pulling head, liners and pistons or general running repair and or inspecting locomotives, it was coveralls. Usually the coveralls and shirt and pants one wore underneath them were washed at a laundrymat in the washing machine marked "for greasers only"as the creater compound traction motor lube was a tad gooie and stickey.

It stuck to the inside of our washing machine. Of which my mind can still hear my late wife screeming as she was removing the white sheets, with those black creater poka-dots on them, seems I ran a load of coveralls beforhand.. Train crews wore street clothes as a general rule, however a few wore the nicer jumpsuits and a few of the old timer engeneers wore bibs.

Depending on the railroad, they swiched to plastic saftey hats. WP was in the Mid 70s. Each craft machinist, electricians, boilermaker, pipe fitters, laborers and of course the white hats, formen.

Painting your workers hats will give a bit of purpos to them we really thought at the time those plastic hats were a pain to live with. We all wore the old tall railroad hats like a baseball hat, but the top was taller Reason being the roundhouse was poorley lit, we stuck our flashlight under the brim of the hat so as we worked the light would shine on the work area.

Really handy when working inside a F3 or F7 during maintaince and setting engine speeds in the govenor. Hope this was of some help Member since August From: Amish country Tenn.

Posted by loathar on Thursday, April 12, PM. Here in Tn. A lot of folks here wear the Mosey Oaks camouflage ones too. Posted by johncolley on Thursday, April 12, PM. As I recall from my railroad days late '50's-early '60's Those engineers who came up the ranks from firing and driving steam wore pinstripe bib overalls and traditional engineer's hats, even into the diesel era. The carmen and engine shop folks wore blue denim bib overalls.

Later engineers often wore slacks or jeans with a print cotton or flannel shirts, depending on weather, and windbreaker jackets with fedoras, the ball caps came even later. Member since January From: indiana posts. Posted by joseph2 on Thursday, April 12, PM.

When I work as a brakeman it's Carhartt bibs in fall,winter and spring,denim jeans only in summer. Bibs keep the wind off plus allow good arm movement,also good padding when you trip. Soo Line fan.

Member since October From: Detroit, Michigan 2, posts. Paul 12, posts. Posted by wjstix on Friday, April 13, AM. Jump suits and coveralls aren't the same thing of course, Jump suits are the uniforms used in bad 's's Sci-Fi movies.

I always assumed they came from the military, i. Coveralls were around and common in the steam era, I've seen c. Member since September From: US posts. Member since May From: Ohio 1, posts. WSOR I usually wear bibs year-round. Since going into engine service, I have expanded, and do not have any pants that fit.

Brown bibs "duck"-type fabric when colder, and demin when warmer. We have to wear a safety reflective vest. In daylight, an orange or lime green T-shirt is acceptable. When colder, sweatshirts and hoodies. Carhartt coats are a little too bulky for me, so layers is the way to go.

Posted by R. Beowulf wrote: To change a worker's clothes, scrape or file off the edge of, say, of bib and straps. From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet. Posted by chutton01 on Tuesday, August 28, PM. Member since December From: Sydney, Australia 1, posts. Posted by marknewton on Tuesday, August 28, PM. Cheers, Mark. Member since May 4, posts. Posted by tatans on Wednesday, August 29, AM.

In europe they wear only coveralls and they must be blue, every country we visited anyone who needed them were dressed in blue coveralls, never did see a pair of overalls, and in a C. Posted by navygunner on Monday, March 10, PM. Member since December From: Ft. Wayne Indiana Home of the Lake Division posts. Hey Brakie, What did ya wear when you where on the RR? Home of the NS Lake Division Users Online There are no community member online.

I remember an old railroader being surprised when I showed up for duty one day: "Where did you find four-button overalls? As others have said, railroading is dirty, and layers of clothes protected you from hot cinders down your neck, or when you brushed up against a hot pipe, or if a valve leaked steam.

Also, there wasn't as much dirt to scrub off when you got home. Depending on the era, a railroader's worker or laundress probably starched his overalls - not for appearance, but because it made it less likely the grease and dirt would "set" in the clothes. One variation on the bandana was to pin it over the entire collar area. You can see this in two of O. Winston Link's crew portraits, and I knew one person who figured out the intricate steps to doing it.

It's a very distinctive look - almost like a cravat - and it seems to have fallen out of favor in the s or s. I wonder if any railroaders showed up to work one day during the transition era dressed for a diesel casual clothes and unexpetedly found out they were going to be running steam?

Crosby RIP , you will find it very amusing. The stripped engr cap came from the Kromer Cap Co. Last time I looked they did have a web site with the history of the cap. Designed by Engineer Kromer made by his wife using mattress ticking which was stripped. After the "Old Timers" discovered how nice those new trains were they started to bump the younger guys off. At this time officials allowed the passengers to come forward and show off the engineer's operating compartment.

One day ready for departure the officers saw this older engineer showing up to work in bibs as if he was ready to run a GG They politely asked him to dress up for the public. Next trip he arrived in a sport coat and slacks. During the run a father brought his young daughter up front to see the engineer. First thing she said that he wasn't the engineer, where was his bibs and kerchief. The officials wished they could have hide and from that point on didn't tell the engineers how to dress.

Bibs were very common work clothes in all labor professions from the teens to the 50's. Dad always wore them on the weekends in the 50's when he was working on the house. Then Monday a suit and tie to the office. I went the whole 9 yards. Blue Bibs, Blue hat, Blue chore coat, leather gloves, work boots, red bandana 'round the neck, railroad watch.

It was a cool, damp November day. What impressed me about the outfit was that it was darn comfy! Some of the old timers always showed up in bibs for diesels and were thought hopeless old fossils by the younger guys. Fit should be loose, but never, ever baggy. Overalls were a huge hit with teenagers in the early s, with traditional, farmer-like styles for the colder months and a shorter version—known as shortalls—to be worn during summer vacation.

The overalls should rest comfortably around the waist without being tight. If you plan on wearing only one shoulder strap fastened for a casual look, make sure the waist buttons fit snug enough to hold the overalls in place. Bib overalls are here.

What Shirts to Wear with OverallsThe easiest thing to wear with overalls is a fitted t-shirt of any kind. To dress them up a bit, try a button up top or a cute fitted blouse. Take your summer overalls into fall or even winter by layering on cold-weather accessories like a beanie and lace-up booties. Keep warm with a shearling jacket. For bib overalls: Order overalls 4 inches bigger in the waist than your regular pant waist. Since bib overalls run long and have a long rise you also may want to order them 2 inches shorter in length than your regular pant length.

Example: Your normal pant size: 36 waist x 32 length. Today, they dress similar to a construction worker with a reflective vest and a hard hat.