Captivity of Steam

Learn about the history of steam-powered innovations. How the steam engine came to be, and how it transformed transportation on land and water. Did you know that some of the first cars were steam-powered? Photo: NPS

Letting off Steam
According to Susan Conrad of the National Park Service, "As the railroads became an integral part of American life, we began to use expressions that came directly from the trains." Here are some examples of those expressions and their interesting origins gathered by Ms Conrad:

• Bells and Whistles - the locomotives needed to signal their movements. Whistle signals let people know what the trains were going to do and the bells served as a warning and a greeting. When people were going to do something in a big way, they did it with bells and whistles, just like the trains did.
• One-track mind, side tracked, right track, off track - we use these expressions all the time to indicate a state of mind. The trains obviously used the tracks to function and to be in the right place at the right time. We talk about staying on track or being side tracked as a way to explain where we are or where we are supposed to be.
• Letting off steam, popping off, blowing smoke, blowing your stack - Steam engines were impressive with their smoke and sound. It became easy to associate the feeling of letting off extra energy and anger with the forceful power behind the steam that blew out of a locomotive's smokestack. Anyone who saw a steam engine in motion could understand the idea of blowing your stack when the pressure got to be too much!