RE :Re: N&W in 1910--Coal crappers

[NW Mailing List]

Gordon,

Until as late as 1996 it was still going on here in Scotland. In the 1980s they tried getting the coal off while the train was sat at a red signal. They tried opening the hopper doors but all this attracted a lot of police attention so they changed tactics. Soon they started the "crapping" referred to in the article although the term used for all the above in this county is "houking". Someone who does "houking" is referred to as a coal houker. Pronounced how-king and how-ker respectively. Anyway the last line the howkers were operating was the Chalmerston branch up the Doon Valley. Till one day a houker, intent on getting one last shovelful into a sack before throwing it down to the lineside, forgot about a stone overbridge just around the next corner...

The houker and his shovel were found lying trackside. This fatality and a lot of ensuing police attention in the following weeks ended coal theft from trains in this county and to the best of my knowledge anywhere in Scotland.

I guess "crapping" just evolved to be the word associated with the theft of coal from trains over there just like houking over here.

Best regards to you all,

Cameron Tyre

SD40-2 at Illinois.USA.Com