Re: "RR Crossing, Look Out For The Cars"......

Mr. Laepple, I believe you have it.
PRSL, What you say is true, but I don’t think that is the reason for the phrase, “Look Out For The Cars.” The phrase does not just refer to the rolling stock. The phrase originated in a period when complete trains were referred to simply as, “The cars.” Today this term has passed out of existence as a synonym for “train,” but here are examples of how it was used in the past:
“I’m going to take the cars to St. Paul.”
“The cars left town twenty minutes late today.”
“He crossed without looking and was hit broadside by the cars.”
I draw this conclusion from seeing such usage many times in the old newspapers from the 1880-1900 timeframe. Look out for the cars meant look out for the train. It was the universal grade crossing warning before the adoption of the term “Railroad Crossing.”
As the term, “the cars” began to fade from common usage, the warning, “Look Out For The Cars” began to become ambiguous. Striking or being struck by only the rolling stock was a hazard, and the warning phrase seemed to be addressing that issue. But the main issue was not seeing an approaching train and being struck by it, so why shouldn’t the warning address the main issue? This evolution in terminology spawned the derivative clarification warning, “Look Out For The Engine.” However, this phrase was short lived.
I wonder about the origin of the term, “Train.”
RK