Railroaders Superstitions.

[Brakie]

I have seen a few of these before, but a few differences.

I have heard guys open the front knuckle of the train in case they run into cars they are more likely to couple into them then butt knuckles and ride up into the front of the engine.

Seeing the "Black Dog" usually happens when you are so tired you start seeing the "Black Dog" out of the corner of your eye.

Talking about derailments or lack of incidents is followed with lots of knocking on wood.

I fully believe seeing a real black dog before a wreck took place is how that superstition got started. We know now in the early years of railroading a lot of wrecks was caused by human error due to poor signaling,operation and safety rules. Superstitions ruled the old world Countries for centuries and came natural to railroaders in the 1800s since the majority came from those old Countries..

Not to mention dogs was commonly used for herding and guarding sheep and cattle and was a common sight in the 1800s.Another old world tradition.