footplateman

F4O1O1T1P3L1A1T1E1M3A1N1

noun

A railway worker who is either a locomotive engineer or a fireman.

Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounfootplateman (plural footplatemen)

plural footplatemen

  1. UKrail transportA railway worker who is either a locomotive engineer or a fireman.

    Footplatemen, organised not by the NUR but by ASLEF, had threatened to strike in August 1917 in demand of an eight-hour day.

    2020 January 2, Conrad Landin, “Strife and strikes in post-war Britain”, in Rail, page 51
    1 more example

    The circular attacks the policy of ASLEF, the principal footplatemen's union, for its opposition to pay differentials between main-line drivers and other footplate men, claiming that it destroys ambition and enterprise.

    1964 May, “News and Comment: Breakaway footplate union”, in Modern Railways, page 293

Origin

From footplate + -man.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

footplateman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footplateman

MLA

“footplateman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footplateman. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “footplateman,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footplateman.

Source: footplateman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.