pgs 18-19
"She simply worked at it [asn afghan] all the way down [from New York to Cape Cod] even at that place where we had the hot box."
A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid 20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked rags or cotton (collectively called packing) to reduce the friction of the axle against the truck frame. When the oil leaked or dried out, the bearings overheated often starting a fire that could destroy the entire railroad car (and cars coupled to it) if not detected early enough.
The packing and bearing had to be regularly inspected, and packing was often added at major stops. The journal was replaceable, but if neglected it would heat to a temperature where the alloy would melt away and leave the brass carrier riding on the steel axle. This would eventually lead to the axle fracturing and the car above falling onto the wheel, which could cause a major derailment of the train. Train worker duties consisted partly of inspecting the train as it ran by, looking for smoke, sparks, or fire. They would then sound the audible report "All Black" to mean the train was not giving off any light energy that would indicate combustion or destruction of the wheel bearings. If the train worker saw "Red" or smoke, he would alert other crew members, or else make an emergency stop to the train to prevent further damage.
When this type of axle box was used, any diesel exhaust smells had to be tracked to their source, as a hot-box sometimes smells similar. Most of the larger railroads use defect detectors to scan passing trains for hot box conditions. Some of these detectors also have "automated mile posts" which send an automated radio signal to the train crew listing the train number, track number, and train speed.
Modern ball, roller or tapered bearings can also overheat, but the likelihood of a roller bearing overheating is usually far smaller than it was with journal bearings. When modern bearings do go wrong, the balls or rollers and their races fail, generating heat which can ignite fires or be the ignition source of a dust explosion in grain, coal, sawdust, etc.
"Fop," said Betty pleasantly. Beau Brummel. Dandy."
"Dude, buck, swell, macaroni."
Fop - a man who is excessively vain and concerned about his dress, appearance, and manners. 1400–50; late Middle English foppe, fop;
Beau Brummel - ( George Bryan Brummell ), 1778–1840, an Englishman who set the fashion in men's clothes. [and would die in an insane asylum, broke, dressed in rags]
Dandy - a man who is excessively concerned about his clothes and appearance; a fop.
1770–80; origin uncertain
Dude - dude up, Informal . to dress in one's fanciest, best, or most stylish clothes; dress up: He got all duded up to go to the dance.
Origin: 1880–85, Americanism ; origin uncertain [Now of course it is slang for any man.]
Buck - an impetuous, dashing, or spirited man or youth. Origin:
before 1000; Middle English bukke, Old English bucca he-goat, bucc male deer; cognate with Dutch bok, German Bock, Old Norse bukkr; def. 5, 6 by shortening; buck private (from circa 1870) perhaps as extension of general sense “male,” i.e., having no status other than being male
Swell - (of persons) fashionably dressed or socially prominent. The meaning "wealthy, elegant person" is first recorded 1786; hence the adj. meaning "fashionably dressed or equipped" (1810), both from the notion of "puffed-up, pompous" behavior. The sense of "good, excellent" first occurs 1897, and as a stand-alone expression of satisfaction it is recorded from 1930 in Amer.Eng
Macaroni - an English dandy of the 18th century who affected Continental mannerisms, clothes, etc.
Used after c.1764 to mean "fop, dandy" (the "Yankee Doodle" reference) because it was an exotic dish at a time when certain young men who had traveled the continent were affecting Fr. and It. fashions and accents. There is said to have been a Macaroni Club in Britain, which was the immediate source of the term.
I found sliced bread for sandwiches covered with a damp cloth.
Sliced bread is a loaf of bread which has been pre-sliced and packaged for convenience. It was first sold in 1928, advertised as "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped". This led to the popular phrase, "the greatest thing since sliced bread".
In homes with a cook, they probably continued to make their own bread, and sliced it themselves.
That refrigerator had been another added attraction to the cottage. Until this summer we had carried our ice like the rest of the summer people from freight cars at the station whenever a load of ice happened to come in.
The first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric "Monitor-Top" refrigerator introduced in 1927, so-called because of its resemblance to the gun turret on the ironclad warship USS Monitor of the 1860s.
The compressor assembly, which emitted a great deal of heat, was placed above the cabinet, and surrounded with a decorative ring. Over a million units were produced. As the refrigerating medium, these refrigerators used either sulfur dioxide, which is corrosive to the eyes and may cause loss of vision, painful skin burns and lesions, or methyl formate, which is highly flammable, harmful to the eyes, and toxic if inhaled or ingested.
The introduction of Freon in the 1920s expanded the refrigerator market during the 1930s and provided a safer, low-toxicity alternative to previously used refrigerants. Separate freezers became common during the 1940s, the popular term at the time for the unit was a "deep freeze". These devices, or "appliances", did not go into mass production for use in the home until after World War II. The 1950s and 1960s saw technical advances like automatic defrosting and automatic ice making. More efficient refrigerators were developed in the 1970s and 1980s, even though environmental issues led to the banning of very effective (Freon) refrigerants.
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