This article contains a list of terms,

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular Context (language use), communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The conte ...

, and

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

used to varying degrees by

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

s and railroad employees in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. Inclusion of a term in this list does not necessarily imply its universal adoption by all railfans and railroad employees, and there may be significant regional variation in usage.

0–9

; 3-step protection (US) : The protection given by a locomotive engineer to an employee working near, between, or under cars to which the locomotive is coupled, via a three-step process: :# Fully apply independent brake. :# Set reverser to neutral. :# Turn off generator field (or notify the ground employee, depending on company-specific rules and locomotive type, that protection is provided). ; 10 wheeler (US) : WheelArrangement 4-6-0

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

with a

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

; 241 (US) : Procession of a train past a stop signal with verbal permission from the dispatcher. Derives from Rule 241, which is used to grant such permission under certain rule sets. ; 251 (US) : On most Class I railroads, this rule references the tradition of "right hand" running on double track (or more) main lines. Trackage signalled for 251 operation typically has full speed signals and speed limits on the right main, and reduced speed (dwarf) signals and speed limits on the left main. ; 261 (US) : On most Class I railroads, this rule references bi-directional operation on any mainline track. Multi track mainlines signalled for 261 operation have full speed signals and speed limits on all available tracks as conditions warrant. Rule 261 operation is the default operating procedure on single track mainlines.

A

;

A unit A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

(US) :

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

(or more rarely an

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

) equipped with a driving cab and a

control system A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...

to control other locomotives in a

multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...

, and therefore able to be the lead unit in a consist of several locomotives controlled from a single position ; ACe : A nickname for EMD's

SD70ACe The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are t ...

locomotive ;

Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) is a positive train control cab signaling system developed by Alstom. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, protect against overspeed, and protect work crews with temporary ...

(ACSES) : A

positive train control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...

cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an ...

system developed by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. ;

Advanced Train Control System An Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) is a system of railway/railroad equipment designed to ensure safety by monitoring locomotive and train locations, providing analysis and reporting, automating track warrants, detecting blind spot and simila ...

(ATCS) : A system of railroad equipment designed to ensure safety by monitoring locomotive and train locations, providing analysis and reporting, and automating track warrants and similar orders. ; ALCOhaulic : A nickname for the DH643 diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

(ALCO) ; Alligator :

ALCO RSD-15 The Alco RSD-15 is a diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York between August 1956 and June 1960, during which time 75 locomotives were produced. The RSD-15 was powered by an Alco 251 16-cy ...

locomotive, named for its long, low nose ; Amcan : An

Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An in ...

passenger car, named because the car shape is a rounded stainless steel tube ; Angel seat (US) : Cupola caboose

The second level seats on a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

-style

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

; Angle bar : A metal plate that joins the ends of rails in jointed track ; : A small shelter that serves as a train station for

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

trains in a small town. Normally, there are no manned services offered at these small stations. More generally, any station built under Amtrak's Standard Stations Program in the 1970s and 1980s. ;

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

(AAR) : An industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the

) ;

Automatic equipment identification Automatic equipment identification (AEI) is an electronic recognition system in use with the North American railroad industry. Consisting of passive tags mounted on each side of rolling stock and active trackside readers, AEI uses RF technology t ...

(AEI) (US) : An automatic tracking system using

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...

technology ;

Auto Train ''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only motorail service in ...

(US) : A passenger train service first operated by

Auto-Train Corporation Auto-Train Corporation , stylized ''auto-train'', was a privately owned passenger railroad that operated from 1971 to 1981. Its trains included autorack cars, enabling passengers to bring their own vehicles on their journey. The company used its o ...

and then by Amtrak between

Lorton, Virginia Lorton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 18,610 as of the 2010 census. History Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plasket ...

and

Sanford, Florida Sanford is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Seminole County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 61,051. Known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City", Sanford sits on the southern shore ...

that carries the passengers' automobiles aboard the same train in autoracks ;

Autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...

or auto carrier (US) : ETTX 905721 20050529 IL Rochelle

A specialized freight car for transporting automobiles

B

; B-Boat : A

GE B23-7 The GE B23-7 is a diesel locomotive model that was first offered by GE in late 1977. Featuring a smaller 12 cylinder version of the FDL engine, it is the successor to GE's U23B produced from early 1968 to mid 1977, but at long is exactly . lon ...

, B30-7, or B36-7 locomotive. By analogy with U-boat, since with the Dash 7 line, the "B" or "C" moved to the beginning of the designation. ; Baby Boat : A

GE U18B The GE U18B diesel-electric locomotive was introduced by GE Transportation as a branch line road-switcher in 1973. It was the only North American locomotive powered by the 8-cylinder 7FDL engine. The U18B was not a popular seller with GE only ma ...

locomotive ; Baby Tunnel Motor : An

EMD GP15-1 The EMD GP15-1 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1976 and March 1982. Intended to provide an alternative to the rebuilding programs that many railroads were applying to their early ...

or GP15T locomotive, so-called because its low air intakes resemble those of the much larger SD40T-2 and SD45T-2 ; Bad order : A rail car that has a mechanical defect, and is sometimes set out on a spur to be repaired. The statement, "I am going to set out a bad order" is railroader slang for a bathroom break (usually a "number two" type break). ; Bandit : A nickname for

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...

(Milwaukee Road) locomotives after the railroad was sold to the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

. Soo Line covered up the Milwaukee Road name and logo on the orange locomotives with black paint, causing them to resemble bandits. Also often applied to similarly patched, second-hand locomotives, especially if the patches are crudely applied. ; Baretables : Empty flat, spine, or well cars ; Beans or Going to Beans : Taking a break from work to eat ; Big Blue : A nickname for

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

due to the medium blue livery that their locomotives were painted ; Big G :# EMD GP40 B&M 339 Wells Maine

A nickname for

Guilford Rail System Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildfor ...

, in reference to the large "G" emblem on their locomotives and boxcars :# The Great Northern Railway ; Big Hole :# The "Big Hole" is the Emergency position of the engineer's air brake valve. :# When the engineer makes an emergency brake application, he moves his brake valve to the emergency, "Big Hole", position. The result of putting the air brake valve into the Big Hole position will cause the instantaneous total loss of all brake air pressure in the train line which causes the brakes on all train cars and engines to automatically apply creating an emergency stop of the train. This action is called, "Big Holing It". :# If a train line is "broken" either to an unexpected uncoupling or a train line hose rupture caused by a derailment or other accident, a "Big Hole" condition occurs which causes the total loss of all brake air pressure in the train line which automatically causes an emergency stop of the train. ; Big hook : A railroad crane ; Big Mac : A nickname given to EMD's

SD70MAC The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are t ...

, SD80MAC, and SD90MAC locomotive models ; Big Orange : A nickname given to

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, named after their orange livery ; Billboard :

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

locomotive in the pre-1972 blue and yellow scheme ; Black Widow : A

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

locomotive (all black with some silver) ; Bloody Nose : A Southern Pacific locomotive (post-1959 gray and red paint scheme where the nose of the diesel locomotive was painted in scarlet red), or the Amtrak Phase I paint scheme: A reddish-orange nose and then the Amtrak Chevron logo on the side of the locomotive. ; Bluebonnet : One of two Santa Fe paint schemes. The standard freight scheme from 1972 until the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

merger was dark blue with yellow on the front, with the same color division as the warbonnet scheme. It is also known as Yellowbonnet. Bluebonnet can also mean a warbonnet unit with only the red painted over, resulting in a silver and blue locomotive; this was used on passenger engines transferred to freight service after the formation of Amtrak. ; Bluebirds : There are two different uses of this term. :#1. A nickname given to

GE U34CH The U34CH was a passenger diesel locomotive built by General Electric between 1970 and 1973. In total, 33 U34CH units were built; 32 were built for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and operated by the Erie Lackawanna Railway and, lat ...

locomotives because they were delivered in dark blue and silver

NJDOT The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

paint :#2. A nickname given to

Alco PA The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States, by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric ...

locomotives of the

Nickel Plate Road The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York (state), Ne ...

due to their distinctive royal blue and white paint scheme. ; Blueliners : A nickname given to the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly calle ...

's heavyweight MU cars, in reference to the bright blue and white paint scheme they wore in later years before being sold to

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

;

Bolster A bolster is a long narrow pillow or cushion filled with cotton, down or fibre. Bolsters are usually firm for back or arm support or for decorative application.Von Tobel, Jackie. "Neck Rolls and Bolsters." The Design Directory of Bedding. La ...

: A transverse floating beam member of truck suspension system supporting the weight of vehicle body ; Blue Devil : A Canadian National locomotive painted in a blue-and-white livery ;

Booster Booster may refer to: Amusement rides * Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride * Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride * Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Booster, a cha ...

: A cabless

B unit B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It re ...

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

. Although a slug and a B unit differ in terms of an engine, both serve the purpose of adding more

tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...

. ;

Boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

A type of rolling stock with a flat bottom enclosed on all sides and top, which is loaded and unloaded from sliding doors on each side ;

Brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...

(US) : A train crew member who performs railcar and track management, often a single job description along with switchman ("brakeman/switchman"). A brakeman manually activated brakes on railroad cars before the advent of air brakes. ; Brakeman's caboose (US) : A small hut at one end of a railway wagon to protect the brakeman from the elements ; Bright Future : The middle

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

tricolor paint scheme (also known as Yellow Nose 2 or YN2) ; Buda Car : A type of inspection car or speeder, typically streamlined, manufactured by

Buda Engine Co. Buda Engine was founded in 1881 by George Chalender in Buda, Illinois, to make equipment for railways. Later based in Harvey, Illinois, Buda from 1910 manufactured engines for industrial, truck, and marine applications. Early Buda engines were gas ...

They were sometimes built out of an ordinary automobile body, with flanged wheels added. They were driven by small engines from 30 to 200 horsepower. ; Buffer Car or Spacer Car : A railroad car, typically empty, placed between a train's locomotives and cars containing hazardous materials, particularly unit trains carrying oil. ; Buggy : A

on the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

; Bull : A railroad police officer ;

A cabless booster locomotive, controlled via

from a cab-equipped

, sometimes equipped with limited controls for hostling ; Butthead or Butt Head : GM Electro-Motive Division model 'MP' or 'SW' endcab switching locomotives

C

; C Light (US) : A single lamp attached to wayside signals with a "C" plate bolted to it. The aspect is Rule 280a - Clear to Next Interlocking. This aspect is only seen in the Eastern United States on rail lines operating Cab Signal Systems. Cab signal lines only have wayside signals at interlockings and diamonds. When a locomotive does not have working cab signals, the dispatcher will activate the C light (indication is a flashing white lamp) to notify the crew that they may proceed to the next interlocking at the speed permitted by the wayside signal's aspect. A locomotive without cab signals that does not receive a C light at an interlocking may proceed past the signal not exceeding Restricted Speed, or with a Form D or other Track Warrant authorization. ;

Cab car A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK and Ireland) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or two driver compartm ...

(US) : A passenger coach which has a full set of train controls at one end, allowing for the use of push-pull train operation ;

Cab unit In North American railroad terminology, a cab unit is a railroad "locomotive" with its own cab and controls. "Carbody unit" is a related term, which may be either a cabless booster unit controlled from a linked cab unit, or a cab unit that cont ...

(US) : A locomotive which derives its structural strength from a bridge-truss design framework in the sides and roof, which cover the full width of the locomotive ; Cabbage : Former

EMD F40PH The EMD F40PH is a four-axle B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in several variants from 1975 to 1992. Intended for use on Amtrak's short-haul passenger routes, it became the backbone of Amtrak's d ...

locomotives with the diesel engine removed, and a roll-up baggage door installed in the center of the carbody; used as cab/baggage cars in Amtrak push-pull service.

Portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsEMD SD9 An SD9 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated . Externally similar to its predecessor, the SD7, the SD9 was built with the improv ...

locomotives, in reference to their smooth ride quality reminiscent of a

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

automobile. This nickname is said to have originated on the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. ;

Calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts * Veal, meat from calves * ...

A cabless switcher ; Can Opener : Conrail's herald ; Car knocker : Railroad car repair-person or car inspector. The term is derived from a worker who taps or "knocks" on railroad equipment to check its soundness. ; Catfish :

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

locomotives with white stripes painted on the nose, which are said to look like catfish whiskers ; Centennials : Union Pacific's

EMD DDA40X The EMD DDA40X is a 6,600 hp (4,943 kW) D-D locomotive, built by EMD from 1969 to 1971 exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad. It is the most powerful diesel-electric locomotive model ever built on a single frame, having two 16 ...

locomotives. World's most powerful diesel locomotives, delivered in 1969, the year of Union Pacific's centennial. ;

Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

: A nickname given to a 12-axled Baldwin diesel locomotive. Also a tender (as on a steam engine) with seven axles (two axles in a truck, followed by five fixed axles). ;

Centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...

(CTC) (US) : A system in which signals and switches for a given area of track are controlled from a centralized location ; Cherry : Red colored signal aspects (lights) when mixed with other colors of a signal aspect (e.g. "Two cherries and a lemon" would denote a Red over Red over Yellow aspect colors) ; Ches-C :

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated und ...

's kitten logo; the profile of the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

's sleeping kitten mascot

Chessie Chessie may refer to: *Chessie (sea monster), a legendary monster supposedly living in Chesapeake Bay, US *Chessie System, a former holding company of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) *Chessie (mascot), a kitten mascot of the C&O *Chessie (tr ...

appears inside the corporate C logo ; Cinder dick : Railroad police detective. The term is derived from the fact that railroad police have to walk on

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

, which is sometimes known as "cinders" (before

dieselization Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as o ...

, many railroads used spent steam locomotive cinders for ballast) ; Circus loading : Loading trailers on flatcars sequentially from the end; the standard method of loading in early piggyback service ; Coal drag : A train loaded with

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

; Coal jimmy : A small, low-capacity

hopper car A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a ...

for carrying coal ; Codebreak/Codebreaking : Changing the front destination signs on buses or trains, sometimes including

rollsign A destination sign (North American English) or destination indicator/destination blind (British English) is a sign mounted on the front, side or rear of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that dis ...

changes. ; Coffin car : A nickname for a passenger car with an engineer's cab. Also known as a cab car or control car. So named due to the alleged additional danger posed to passengers in such cars (which are pushed by the heavier trailing locomotive) in frontal collisions. ; Color position light (CPL) : A type of signal used most prominently by the

Baltimore & Ohio The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

and the

Norfolk & Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisi ...

railroads ; Conductor (US) : The person in charge of a train and its crew. On passenger trains, a conductor is also responsible for tasks such as assisting passengers and collecting tickets. ; Consist : The group of rail vehicles making up a train, or more commonly a group of locomotives connected together for multiple-unit (MU) operation ; Control point (CP) (US) : An interlocking, or the location of a track signal or other marker with which

dispatcher A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical s ...

s can specify when controlling trains ; Cornfield meet (US) : A

head-on collision A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision. Rail transport ...

between two trains ; Coupler (US) : Tow hitch 5

The mechanical connector at either end of a railroad car allowing it to couple together with other cars to form a train ; Covered wagon : An EMD

E-unit EMD E-units were a line of passenger train streamliner diesel locomotives built by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and its predecessor the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC). Final assembly for all E-units was in La Grange, Illino ...

or F-unit locomotive ; Cow : A switcher locomotive, when paired with a

calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts * Veal, meat from calves * ...

;

Cowl unit A cowl unit is a body style of diesel locomotive. The terminology is a North American one, though similar locomotives exist elsewhere. A cowl unit is one with full-width enclosing bodywork, similar to the cab unit style of earlier locomotives, ...

(US) :

A locomotive for which structural strength comes from the

underframe An underframe is a framework of wood or metal carrying the main body structure of a railway vehicle, such as a locomotive, carriage or wagon. See also * Chassis * Headstock * Locomotive bed * Locomotive frame * Undercarriage Undercarriage is t ...

instead of the sides and roof ; Critter : A small industrial locomotive ; Cross-tie (US) : See

Railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer ...

; Crummy : A

; Cut (US) : A set of cars coupled together

D

; Dark Future : CSX SD40-2 8449 In Senatobia, Miss

The current

paint scheme, also known as Yellow Nose 3 (YN3) or Gold Nose 1 (GN1) ;

Dark Territory Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since t ...

: Rail lines without wayside (train control) signals ; Darth Vader : Darth Vaders along NE Corridor in Washington DC

The

lens hood In photography, a lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the front end of a lens to block the Sun or other light source(s) to prevent glare and lens flare. Lens hoods may also be used to protect the lens from scratches and the elements witho ...

on a modern style of railroad signals, due to its vague resemblance to the helmet of

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

from

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

; Deadheading : A passenger train that is traveling along a line but is not carrying passengers ; Deathstar : Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Logo

The logo of

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

, which has the letter "i" inside a circle, based on a vague resemblance to the

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and Weapon of mass destruction, superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' Space opera, space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the Death Star ...

battle station in Star Wars ;

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

: Level crossing of two railroad tracks, at any angle from 15° to 90° ; Dinky : A nickname given to small locomotives, particularly one running in industrial service or on

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

tracks. Also, a small old-fashioned trolley. ;

Distributed power In rail transport, distributed power (DP) is a generic term referring to the physical distribution—at intermediate points throughout the length of a train—of separate motive power groups. Such "groups" may be single units or multiple consist ...

unit (DPU) : A locomotive or multiple locomotives in the middle or at the end of a train. Can either be manned or automatically controlled. Manned units are preferred to be called "helpers" by railfans and some railroad personnel. ; Double header (US) : A configuration in which two steam locomotives are coupled head-to-tail in order to haul a heavy train up a long or steep hill. In the present day, double headers (and occasionally triple headers) are done primarily on large passenger trains or as a show for railfans. ; Draper-Taper : Nickname for the Canadian-built

GMD SD40-2F The GMD SD40-2F is a C-C diesel locomotive built by General Motors Diesel. It was fundamentally an SD40-2 in a cowl unit full-width body. A total of 25 units were built solely for the Canadian Pacific Railway. They were delivered in 1988 and ...

, SD50F, SD60F, GE C40-8M, and BBD HR-616. These locomotives feature a full-width carbody with improved rear visibility, designed by William L. Draper, an employee of

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

. ;

Dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid r ...

or dynamics : A method of braking in which the motors on the locomotive wheels generate electric power from the momentum of the moving train, and this power is dissipated through resistor grids as heat ; Dynamite the train or dynamite : Causing an emergency brake application (whether intentional or not)

E

; Eight and sand : Term used to wish train crews well wishes and quick uneventful journey. Comes from notch 8 (the highest power setting of modern locomotive throttles), and to apply sand to prevent wheel slipping. ; Elephant style : BN 3157 IL Eola

A consist of multiple locomotives with all units facing forward, resembling the nose-to-tail train of elephants in a circus parade ; Emeralds : Clear aspects (green colored signal lights) indicating maximum allowable speed for that section of track or route. Emeralds are the opposite of "Rubies". ; Emergency : When a train has made a full brake application due to adverse event, or has lost its train air due to a defective valve (a "kicker"), or a broken air line or train separation. The train crew will normally declare that they are "in emergency" over the train radio, thus warning other trains and the dispatcher that there is a problem. ; End-of-train-device (ETD) or flashing rear-end device (FRED) : FRED cropped

A form of electronic caboose with a flashing red light mounted on the end of a train. Also monitors various train functions such as brake-pipe pressure, motion, and GPS location. ;

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

(US) : The operator of a locomotive ; Espee : A nickname given to the Southern Pacific Railroad by railfans ; Ex-Con : A former Conrail locomotive or employee ; Exempt : The Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR 392.10) requires drivers of vehicles carrying passengers for hire, school buses carrying students, and vehicles carrying hazardous materials to stop before crossing the tracks. State or local laws or regulations establish which crossings may be posted as "exempt" from this requirement to stop; except when a train, locomotive, or other railroad equipment is approaching or occupying the highway-rail grade crossing, or the driver's view is blocked.

F

; Fallen flag : A defunct railroad, having either merged or discontinued operations ;

Federal Employers Liability Act The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. (1908), is a United States federal law that protects and compensates railroaders injured on the job. Background In the years between 1889 and 1920, railroad use in the U.S. exp ...

(FELA) : A U.S. federal law that protects and compensates railroaders injured on the job ;

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...

(FRA) (US) : The agency which oversees rail operation regulations and safety requirements for U.S. freight, passenger and commuter rail operations ; Filet : Converting a double-stack container train to single stack by removing the top layer of containers, allowing the rest of the train to proceed along track that lacks double stack clearance. The removed containers can be trucked to local destinations. The opposite process is toupee. ; Flares : The

EMD SD45 The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2022, mos ...

, with its dynamic brake blisters and radiators that distinctively flare from the top of the unit. Also ''Flare 45''. Both forms distinguish the SD45 from the SD45-2 and SD45T-2, which lack flared radiators. The GP40X and SD70M models also bear similar flared radiators. ;

Flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

(US) :

A type of rolling stock, which can be a flat-bottomed car with no sides on which freight (including

intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...

s) can be stacked. A bulkhead is a flatcar with walls on the front and rear. A center-beam bulkhead is a bulkhead flatcar with an additional wall dividing one side of the flatcar from the other, but still without any sides. ; Flatback : Industry slang for trailer-on-flatcar service in the 1970s, especially in the trade journal ''Railway Age'' ; Foamer : A railfan, particularly one whose enthusiasm appears excessive. They figuratively "foam at the mouth" while railfanning. ; Flying switch or drop (US) : The practice of uncoupling a locomotive from a car in motion and running over a switch, whereupon an employee on the ground lines the switch to divert the car onto an adjacent track. Once commonplace, this practice has led to several lawsuits against railroad companies and is now strictly prohibited due to the high risk to life and property. ; Foreign power : Motive power from one railroad that runs along another railroad ; Form D (US) : A paper form authorizing movements over a specific stretch of track. Also called a Track Warrant Control. ;

Freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

(US) : The products which are carried ;

Freight car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

(US) : A car designed to transport freight ; Frog (US) : A casting with "X" shaped grooves used in

switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

es and crossovers ; Fucking rail nut (FRN) : A derogatory term used by some railroaders for

s ; Funeral train :# A train transporting the bodies of deceased leaders, government officials, or other significant people to a graveyard :# A train consisting of one or more locomotives carrying other locomotives for scrapping

G

;

Gandy dancer Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States, more formally referred to as "section hands", who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines. The British equivalents o ...

: A track maintenance worker ; Geep : A nickname for EMD's GP series of locomotives ; Gennie : A

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

GE P32AC-DM General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...

locomotive ; Genset : From "generator set", a locomotive that uses multiple high-speed diesel engines and generators, rather than a single medium-speed diesel engine and a single generator. Sometimes confused with ''Green Goat'' locomotives; the only similarities between the two types are their outward appearance and that both are designed to reduce air pollution and fuel consumption. ; GEVO : A nickname for

GE Evolution Series The Evolution Series is a line of diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec), initially designed to meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The first pre-production ...

locomotives, in reference to the GEVO-12 engine used in those units ; Ghost : An unpainted (but usually numbered) locomotive that has not yet been painted with company's livery. A ghost locomotive can be either in transport from the locomotive builder to the paint shop, or an unpainted locomotive may have been placed in revenue service without livery due to power shortage or, in rare cases, pushed out of the factory preemptively due to an impending labor strike. May also refer to an

EMD E8 The E8 is a , A1A-A1A passenger-train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois. A total of 450 cab versions, or E8As, were built from August 1949 to January 1954, 447 for the U.S. and 3 for Cana ...

, #4261, belonging to the Boston commuter agency,

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

. This locomotive was known for its unique, plain light-gray paint. ; Goat : A locomotive used in yard switching service ; Gold Nose 1 (GN1) or YN3 : The current

paint scheme ;

Gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

(US) :

A type of rolling stock with a flat bottom and relatively low sides, used to haul material such as ore or scrap, and loaded and unloaded from the top which may be covered or uncovered ; Green and Cream (Cream and Green) : BNSF's post-Burlington Northern green-and-white livery ;

Green Goat Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

A type of "hybrid" switching locomotive utilizing a small diesel engine and a large bank of rechargeable batteries ;

Guard rail Guard rail, guardrails, or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Common shapes ...

(US) : A double rail section of track, sometimes found in train yards and on bridges to prevent derailments or limit damage caused by derailments by having rail on both sides of the wheel flange. Also found on curves with a tight radius, switches, and crossings.

H

; Hack : A caboose ; Hammerhead :# A GE locomotive with "winged" radiators, when running long hood forward :# A nickname given to certain early ALCO roadswitchers with a high nose, as well as the GE BQ23-7 ;

Handcar A handcar (also known as a pump trolley, pump car, rail push trolley, push-trolley, jigger, Kalamazoo, velocipede, or draisine) is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a railway ...

(US) :

A small, hand-powered railroad car used for track inspection ; Heavy rail (US) : A city-based transit rail system that runs on its own dedicated track and often underground. Subways are considered heavy rail. Refers to

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

and

inter-city rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...

when used by the FRA or in other countries. ; Heavyweight (US) : During the period between around 1910 and the mid-1930s, most passenger cars in the US were built with three axle trucks, concrete floors, and riveted, double walled sides and often weighed 90 tons or more. Heavyweight construction was used to improve ride quality. ; Helper : A locomotive temporarily coupled to heavy-tonnage trains to assist them over steep grades ; High ball :# Another term for a clear signal, derived from the days of steam where a station operator would hoist a large wooden ball up a standard, signalling that the engineer was authorized to proceed :# A slang term used among railroad employees to convey to the crew of a train that they were clear to proceed : ; High cube (US) : A boxcar whose vertical clearance is excessive ; Hog law : The federal hours-of-service law that forbids certain classes of railroad employees, including those operating trains, from working longer than a certain time after reporting for duty, currently 12 hours ; Hogger : A locomotive engineer ; Honorary steam engine : Common term for ALCO diesel locomotives, due to their

turbo lag In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

resulting in a tendency to blow large amounts of black smoke when throttling up ;

Hood unit A hood unit, in North American railroad terminology, is a body style for diesel and electric locomotives where the body is less than full-width for most of its length and walkways are on the outside. In contrast, a cab unit has a full-width car ...

(US) :

TPW 400 20050716 Illinois Railway Museum

A locomotive whose sides and roof are nonstructural and do not extend the full width of the locomotive. Structural strength comes from the

. ; Horsehead or '

Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

' : Norfolk Southern's current locomotive livery with a horse's head embedded in the NS Logo ; Horsepower hours : How long motive power from another railroad is used on a specific railroad ; Hospital train : A train composed of defective "bad order" equipment or locomotives that are en route to a repair shop ;

Hot box A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid-20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked ...

: An overheated wheel bearing. This comes from the era before the widespread use of

roller bearing In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing, is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls or rollers) between two concentric, grooved rings called races. The relative m ...

s where the ends of an axle rested in solid copper bearings housed in a

journal box A bogie or railroad truck holds the wheel sets of a rail vehicle. Axlebox An ''axle box'', also known as a ''journal box'' in North America, is the mechanical subassembly on each end of the axles under a railway wagon, coach or locomotive; ...

filled with oil soaked cotton waste. An overheated axle led to a hot ''journal'' box that often ignited the oiled waste. The term is used to refer to a railway wheel bearing that has over-heated due to internal friction caused by some fault in the bearing. ; Hot rail (US) :# Any section of track over which a train movement is imminent. The closer or faster the approaching train, the "hotter" the rail. :# On some electrified railroads and rapid transit lines, the third rail which supplies power to locomotives or cars ; Hotel power (US) : Electric power used to provide for the comfort of passengers aboard a train en route ; Hotshot (US) : A fast, long-distance train given priority on the track over other trains

I

;

Interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...

(US) :

Any location that includes a switch or crossing of two tracks, derived from the early practice of installation of a system of mechanical equipment called an ''interlocking plant'' to prevent collisions. See also

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

. Interlocking is also the term for the actual mechanical or electrical apparatus that prevents switch/points and signals from being operated in ways that would allow for conflicting train movements.

J

; Jenny (plural Jennies) : A relatively short, open top hopper car primarily used in the transport of iron ore. ; Jersey Builder : A nickname given to

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

commuter trains in the 1970s due to the fact it used former

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference The Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) was an NCAA Division I conference that only sponsored women’s fiel ...

and

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...

railroad passenger cars used on the famed

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...

passenger train still in their former owners paint schemes with CNJ patches on them. ; Johnson Bar (US) : On a locomotive, a long, heavy lever that operates the

reversing gear On a steam locomotive, the reversing gear is used to control the direction of travel of the locomotive. It also adjusts the cutoff of the steam locomotive. Reversing lever This is the most common form of reverser. It consists of a long lever moun ...

; Joint : Synonym for the verb "couple" used by brakemen when flat switching a yard. Talking on the radio, they will tell the engineer how many car lengths to back up in order to couple to another car (i.e. "five cars to a joint") ; Joint bar (US) : A metal plate that joins the ends of rails in jointed track ;

Juice Train "Juice Train" (or "Orange Juice Train") is the popular name for unit trains of Tropicana fresh orange juice operated by railroads in the United States. History Tropicana Products was founded in 1947 in Bradenton, Florida, by Anthony T. Rossi, an ...

unit train A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route. They are dist ...

Tropicana Tropicana may refer to: Companies *Tropicana Entertainment, a former casino company that owned several Tropicana-branded casinos *Tropicana Products, a Chicago-based food company known for orange juice Hotels and nightclubs *Tropicana Casino & Re ...

cars

K

; Knock down (US) : To pass an absolute signal and thereby change its aspect to stop; originated in the days of

semaphore signals Railway semaphore signal is one of the earliest forms of fixed railway signals. This semaphore system involves signals that display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore ...

whose arms would drop to the stop aspect when passed ; Kodachrome :

Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

's red, yellow, and black paint scheme, which resembled the packaging of

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years Kodachrome was widely used ...

color transparency film. This was the scheme instituted when the merger between Southern Pacific and Santa Fe was assumed to be approved. Hundreds of locomotives were painted in Kodachrome colors before the merger was denied.

L

;

Lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

(US) :

A portable (often handheld) light source that is used to signal train crews ;

Level junction A level junction (or in the United Kingdom a flat crossing) is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front of ...

(US) : A junction in which all track crossings take place at grade and routings must therefore be controlled by

signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

and

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...

; Light engine or light power : A locomotive unit traveling to a destination without a train attached. Can be a power pool transfer (relocation of a surplus of locomotives from one location to another), or can be a helper locomotive/locomotives being sent or returning from helping a heavy tonnage train over a grade. ; Lightning Slinger : A

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator ; Lineup or lined up : To have switches aligned correctly before a move (e.g. over the radio, "Would you call the dispatcher for a lineup so we can get out of here?") ; Local : A short freight train that is localized to a specific line or area, and switches out cars from

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

s or

industrial spur A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

s ; Long hood forward (LHF) : Norfolk Southern GP38 5610

A locomotive moving backwards (the direction of its

long hood The long hood of a hood unit-style diesel locomotive is, as the name implies, the longer of the two hoods (narrower sections of the locomotive body in front and behind of the cab) on a locomotive, particularly American-type freight locomotives. ...

) that is either leading a train, most often a local, or part of a light power move

M

; Mainline (US) : A principal artery of a railway system ; Main rod (US) : The drive rod connecting the crosshead to a driving-wheel or axle in a steam locomotiveWhite (1968), p 465-466. ;

Maintenance of way Maintenance of way (commonly abbreviated to MOW) refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including Railway track, tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infrastructure such as Railway signal, signals and sign ...

(MOW) (US) : BNSF X4400320 20040808 WI Prairie du Chien

The maintenance of a railroad's rights of way, including track ; Manifest : SP 8033 19921006 IL Eola

A freight train with a mixture of car types and cargoes. Also known as a Mixed Freight Train. ; Mating Worms : The intertwined P and C letters of the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

logo ; Meatball or Swedish Meatball :

EMD AEM-7 The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle B-B electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 designed for passenger service in the United States. The ...

ABB ALP-44 The ABB ALP-44 was an electric locomotive which was built by Asea Brown Boveri of Sweden between 1989 and 1997 for the NJ Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit and SEPTA Regional Rail, SEPTA railway lines. Service New Jersey Transit New J ...

electric locomotives; so named for their design being based on the Swedish Rc4. ; Miniquad : Four permanently coupled ore cars (jennies) ; Mother : A locomotive that is paired with a slug ; Mud hop (US) : Someone who walks in the "mud" along the rails verifying car lineup ; Mud Missile : A derogatory nickname given to

GE Genesis General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...

locomotives, in reference to one's involvement in the 1993

Big Bayou Canot train disaster On September 22, 1993, an Amtrak train derailed on the CSX Transportation Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with ...

;

Multimark The Multimark was a logo introduced by Canadian Pacific Railway on July 17, 1968, to identify each of its various operations. The Multimark was created by the international marketing and design firm Lippincott (brand consultancy), Lippincott and ...

: Named for the Canadian Pacific paint scheme given from 1968 to 1996 ;

Multiple-unit train control Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location—whether it is a multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered ...

(US) : The ability of diesel and electric locomotives or multiple units to be joined together and controlled from one driving station. Such a set of joined locomotives is called a

consist In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

or (colloquially) "lash-up" and is said to be "MUed together".

N

;

NARP Narp () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Fr ...

(US) : Acronym for the former name of the Rail Passengers Association, the National Association for Rail Passengers. ;

NIMBY NIMBY (or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land use regulations. It carries the connotation that ...

(US) : A derisive acronym for "not in my backyard" describing residents who are opposed to trains running through their neighborhoods ; NORAC (US) : The Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee is responsible for standardizing operations and signal rules and aspects among a variety of widely interconnected rail systems through the Northeastern region of the United States. Until 1999, Conrail was the largest system operator to follow NORAC rules. Properties formerly owned by Conrail have since modified wayside signal aspects to conform with individual company rules and aspect plans, until such time that replacement infrastructure is installed. ; Nose to ass (N2A) : A group of locomotives that are oriented elephant style

O

; Office-car special (OCS) : A train composed of passenger cars that are privately owned by the railroad corporation and which travels along their rail lines, so that upper level management can review facilities, assess the addition or reconstruction of facilities that are needed for expansion or modernization; as well as streamlining of operations or removal of obsolete infrastructure. Also, these trains are used to escort visiting upper level management from other railroads for the purpose of a proposed purchase or sale of a rail line. ;

One-man operation One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to Driver Controlled Operation, is operation of a train, bus, ...

(OMO) (US) : Operation of a train by the driver or motorman alone, without a conductor ; Outlawed : Train crew members who have reached their daily 12-hour maximum of hours worked and must cease working due to regulations ; Overhaul : A train of exclusively locomotives, usually retired, that exceeds the ordinary maximum number of locomotives in one train ; Owl-eyed Cars : An uncommon nickname for

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

's MP54s and related heavyweight MU cars, in reference to their distinctive porthole front windows that give the appearance of a pair of eyes when viewed from the front

P

; Pac-Man : A nickname for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

's 1968–1996 logo featuring a black triangle within a white half-circle, which resembles the main character of the video arcade game

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

. It was CP's corporate logo for all business aspects: Railway (CP Rail), shipping (

CP Ships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

), telecommunications ( CNCP), trucking (CP Express), and airline (

CP Air Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...

). It was officially known as the

. ;

Passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

(US) : Railway vehicle for use in passenger trains ; Patch : UP GP38-2 588

A locomotive or car wearing a new reporting mark or number on a "patch" over existing paint, usually of the former owner's ; Pennsy Style : A nickname for old

position light signals ; Pepsi Can : An Amtrak

GE Dash 8-32BWH The GE Dash 8-32BWH, also known as the P32-8BWH, B32-8WH, or P32-8, is a passenger train locomotive used by Amtrak, based on GE's Dash 8 series of freight train locomotives. Built in 1991, they were the first locomotives purchased to replace th ...

, in reference to the units' original paint scheme with large red and blue stripes. Also referred to as "Cutters" for the striping's supposed similarity to striping on Coast Guard vessels. ; Pig train : A train devoted exclusively to intermodal traffic, generally trailers on flatcars (TOFC) or containers on flatcars (COFC) ; Plate (US) : The measurement of a freight car's vertical clearance. Plate F and above is considered excess height, and such cars must avoid low-clearance routes. See also:

Loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

; Pole switching (also called "poling") : Hopper car climbing

A method of switching cars on adjacent tracks in which a pole is positioned between the locomotive and car, then the locomotive pushes the car using the pole. The pole is fitted into poling pockets on the locomotive and car to ensure it does not move during the switching maneuver. ; Pooch : A nickname for the General Electric P30CH locomotives. So termed by the similar appearance of the model name to the word pooch: P30CH / POOCH. ; Position light signal (Pennsylvania) : Signals made by the Pennsylvania Railroad that make use of a circular disc with up to eight lights mounted in a circle, with one light in the center. The lights would line up in a straight line to give the indication. ; Power Move (PM) : When multiple locomotives move within a place to get to another without railcars ; Private varnish (PV) : Privately owned passenger cars ; Pumpkin :#

's current bright orange paint scheme :# CSX's or Amtrak's maintenance-of-way paint scheme :# Formerly ICG's all-orange scheme

Q

; Q : Shorthand nickname for the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

(CB&Q) ; Quarterly inspection, Q-inspection, or periodic inspection (US) : In the United States, a federally-mandated safety inspection performed on a locomotive every 92 operating days ; Quiet zone (US) : A designation by the

that removes the requirement for train operators to sound their horn when approaching each public crossing in a certain area, often near residential neighborhoods who have asked for the status. Because the train does not sound its horn while approaching the crossings, safety upgrades to all of the crossings must be made in order to compensate. These upgrades usually include double gates, additional signage, lights, and bells, if they are not already present. Additionally, the residents requesting the status must indemnify the railroad from any resulting crossing mishaps.

R

; Racetrack :# A nickname for a stretch of

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...

Commuter Rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line and BNSF freight line between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

where commuter trains and freight trains commonly attain high speeds. :# The parallel tracks of the O&W and

DL&W The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

north of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. : ; Raccoon :

locomotives that have the entire area around the cab windows painted white, resembling the face of a raccoon ; Racks :# Multiple

autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...

s :# The portion of an autorack which is attached to a

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

in order to protect the vehicles inside and may contain one, two, or three levels depending on the height of the vehicles being shipped : ; Rail sled (US) : A form of

wheel chock Wheel chocks (or chocks) are wedges of sturdy material placed closely against a vehicle's wheels to prevent accidental movement. Chocks are placed for safety in addition to setting the brakes. The bottom surface is sometimes coated in rubber ...

that slips onto the rail under the wheel of

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

which prevents the vehicle from rolling ; Rainbow consist,

Skittles Skittles may refer to: * Skittles (confectionery), a brand of fruit-flavor chewy candy, distributed by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company *'' Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical'' * Skittles (sport), the game from which bowling originated * Skittles (ch ...

consist, or Skittles lineup :# A group of locomotives of different colors or liveries leading a single train :# A passenger train made up of cars bearing different liveries : ; Rare mileage : A passenger train traveling over track that does not have regular passenger service ; Red Barn : CP Rail 9011

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

locomotives ; Reefer : A

refrigerator car A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a refrigerated boxcar (U.S.), a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars (co ...

; Rent-a-wreck : A (usually old) locomotive owned by a leasing company ;

Reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...

: A code assigned by the

to identify the owners of rolling stock in North America ; Restricted speed (US) : A speed not exceeding 20 mph which allows stopping within half the range of vision short of an obstruction on the tracks ; Right way : A "high nose" locomotive running with the long hood facing forward. Reminiscent of the Southern Railway and the

style of running locomotives. ; Rhino : Nickname for HHP-8 electric locomotives used by Amtrak for

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busies ...

service ; Road engine (US) : The locomotive closest to the train during a

double-heading In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-headin ...

operation ; Roll-by or rollby (US) : Visual inspection of railroad equipment while it is in motion ; Rolling Bomb : A unit tank train usually carrying flammable liquids ; Roster shooter : Someone interested in photographing every locomotive road number they can ; Rubies or cherries : Stop signal aspect (red colored signal lights), or a red aspect in conjunction with other colors ; Rule G (US) : The universal rule prohibiting the use of drugs and alcohol ; Runaround (US) : The practice of detaching a locomotive from its train, driving it to the other end of the train and re-attaching it, to allow the train to proceed in the direction it has just come from (e.g. when it reaches its destination and forms a service in the other direction). ; Run through : A train that originates on one railroad, with its destination on another road, that is simply "run through" to its destination instead of being exchanged for home road rolling stock at the crew-change point, in order to save expense ; Running a red signal : An event in which a train passes a

signal In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

to stop without authorization to do so ; Running boards or grating : Walkboards found on the tops and ends of rail cars

S

;

Safety Appliance Act The Safety Appliance Act is a United States federal law that made air brakes and automatic couplers mandatory on all trains in the United States. It was enacted on March 2, 1893, and took effect in 1900, after a seven-year grace period. The ...

(US) : A law mandating air brakes, grab bars, and automatic

couplers Coupler may refer to: Engineering Mechanical * Railway coupler, a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train device ** Janney coupler ** SA3 coupler ** Scharfenberg coupler for multiple unit passenger cars * Quick coupler, used in constru ...

; Screamer or screaming thunderbox : An

locomotive, in reference to it operating in a constant state of full throttle (in order to provide head-end power to passenger cars). ; Sergeant Stripes : SD60F

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

locomotive in the 1970s and 1980s paint scheme featuring light-gray stripes on the locomotive's long hood ; Shoofly (US) : A temporary stretch of track that takes trains around construction or an accident scene ; Shove : To push a cut of cars backward with a locomotive ;

Shunting neck A headshunt (or escape track in the United States) is a short length of track provided to release locomotives at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines. Terminal headshunt A 'terminal headshunt' is a short ...

(US) : A length of track feeding a number of sidings that permits the sidings to be shunted without blocking the main line, or where two lines merge into one before ending with a buffer, to allow a run-round procedure to take place ;

Siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

(US) : A second parallel track (running for a short distance) on single-track railway lines, allowing a train to pass another ; Skate : A wheel chock ;

Slack action In railroading, slack action is the amount of free movement of one car before it transmits its motion to an adjoining coupled car. This free movement results from the fact that in railroad practice cars are loosely coupled, and the coupling is oft ...

(US) : Looseness in a train caused by mating clearances in couplers ; Slug : A locomotive, with or without an operator's cab, which lacks a diesel engine, and draws power for its traction motors from a normal locomotive, known as a "mate" or "mother" ;

Smokestack A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

or stack (US) : A

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

; Smurf (Smurf Unit) : A locomotive in a blue and white livery, most notably

GATX GATX Corporation is a railcar lessor that owns fleets in North America, Europe, and Asia. In addition, jointly with Rolls-Royce Limited, it owns one of the largest aircraft spare engine lease portfolios. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...

units and BNSF units formerly owned by GATX, named after their vague resemblance to the blue-and-white creatures in

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

; Snail : A locomotive with a diesel engine, but does not have traction motors, often used for external power for a rotary snow plow ; Snake head : A section of strap rail that has come loose and curled upward due to the weight of railway cars passing over it ; Speeder, motorcar, trackcar, putt putt, or golf cart : Speeder at MadCity Rail Show 2004

A small, motorized track inspection vehicle ; SpongeBob, SpongeBob Cab, or SpongeBob SquareCab : Rebuilt CSX SD40 or GP40 locomotives with fully yellow noses and a fully square hood ("square cab") ;

Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

(US) : A stretch of rail that branches off the main line, often to an

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

that is serviced by freight trains ; Stacks : A nickname for double-stacked cars or trains ;

Steeplecab Steeplecab is railroad terminology for a style or design of electric locomotive; the term is rarely if ever used for other forms of power. The name originated in North America and has been used in Britain as well. A ''steeplecab'' design has ...

(US) : An electric locomotive with a central cab and sloping "noses" on each end ; Subway (US) : A railroad that runs underground, generally in a large city ; Susie-Q (US) : A nickname for the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in th ...

;

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

(US) : Points ;

Switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...

(US) : A small locomotive used for assembling trains and moving railroad cars around

T

; The T (US) : A nickname for the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

(MBTA), the MBTA subway, subway service through Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, also an old, but still-used official name for the Dallas/Fort Worth Transportation Authority ; T-Hog : A nickname for a Reading Railroad T-1 4-8-4 steam locomotive ; Taco Belle : A nickname for the new ''Southern Belle'' inspired paint scheme on Kansas City Southern Railway, Kansas City Southern locomotives assigned to subsidiary Kansas City Southern de México ; Terminal station (US) : A station sited where a railway line or service ends or terminates ; Thundercab : A mostly derogatory nickname given to early-build EMD SD70 series, SD70ACe locomotives, due to crews considering their cabs noisy ; Thunder Pumpkin : A nickname for the orange paint scheme on

locomotives ; Railroad tie, Tie (US) : Railroad tieswoodconcrete

Bars of wood or concrete placed beneath and perpendicular to track to support the rails ; Tie down : To apply hand brakes to the trainset ; Tie plate (US) : An iron or steel plate used to spread the weight of rail over a larger area of sleeper (tie) and facilitate a secure, low maintenance, fastening with bolts or clips ; Toaster : AEM-7 916 in Washington Union Station in 1997

AEM-7 916 in Washington Union Station in 1997

and

locomotives, due to their visual appearance and tendency to emit sparking and clicking sounds when idling. Also sometimes used to refer to any GE locomotive, due both to their tendency to shoot flames out of the exhaust stack during turbo lag and to General Electric's historic involvement in the manufacture of household appliances. ; Detonator (railway), Torpedo (US) : A small explosive device strapped to the top of a rail to alert an approaching train of danger ahead by creating a loud noise upon contact with a locomotive wheel ; Toupee : When a single stack train coming from reduced clearance territory has additional containers placed on top for the rest of its trip; the opposite of #F, filet ; Trackage rights (US) : The legal right of one railroad company to use the tracks of another, as agreed to by the companies concerned or their predecessors ; Track warrant (TWC) (US) or occupancy control system (OCS) (CA) : A system for authorizing main track occupancy using defined points such as mileposts, switches, or stations ; Train order (US) : A system for authorizing main track occupancy using telephone, telegraph, and wayside stations to pass authority to train crews ; Triclops : A name given by railfans to locomotives, most notably EMD SD60s, with three front windows. ; Trops : Tropicana Refrigerator car, reefer boxcar. Shortened from Tropicana, referring to the orange or white refrigerated boxcars used to haul frozen concentrated orange juice to packaging facilities north of Florida. Term is specifically used by CSX crews in Cincinnati Terminal where a large such packaging facility is located. ; Bogie, Truck : The undercarriage assembly of rolling stock incorporating the train wheels, suspension, brakes and, in powered units, the ''traction motors'' ; Tunnel Motor : Southern Pacific EMD SD40T-2 or EMD SD45T-2. Named for the lower-located air intakes to prevent the locomotive from pulling diesel exhaust in with clean air while traveling through a tunnel. ; Turn : A local freight train that makes a round trip, returning to originating station

U

; U-Boat : A GE Universal Series locomotive ; Underliers : Non-operating railroad companies which own rights-of-way ; Unit Train :A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route. ; UP (US) : The common name and Reporting mark#Standard practices, reporting mark for the Union Pacific Railroad ; Union station or union terminal (US) : Cincinnati-union-terminal

A railway station or terminal at which tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies

V

; Van (Eastern CA) : A caboose ; Vomit Bonnet : A derogatory name for

's first attempt at a paint scheme, which used olive and beige as its principal colors but in the configuration of the traditional AT&SF "Warbonnet" scheme, first seen on SD70MAC 9647.

W

; Warbonnet : BNSF Loco No

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Santa Fe's red and silver paint scheme. The scheme first appeared in 1937 on the railroad's E1 passenger locomotives for the Super Chief train. It is widely considered the most famous and the most recognizable of railroad color schemes. The Santa Fe phased out its use from the early 1970s on, then revived it in 1989. It has become less common since the

merger in 1995. ; Washboards : M.U. cars, subway cars, and other equipment made with corrugated side panels that resembled washboards ; Water column (railroad), Water column (US) : A device used for delivering a large volume of water into the tank or tender of a steam locomotive ;Waybill : A document giving details and instructions relating to a shipment of goods. A waybill is issued by the railroad after receipt of the Bill Of Lading. ;Wet Noodle :Canadian National's stylized CN logo, in use since 1961 ; Whiteface : The first version of Norfolk Southern's "Horsehead" paint scheme. High visibility paint scheme used on various

locomotives, primarily EMD SD60, SD60Ms, EMD SD40-2, SD40-2s, EMD GP50, GP50s, GP39M, GP39 rebuilds, and EMD GP28M, GP28 rebuilds. ; Wickerliners : A nickname for the DL&W electric multiple unit cars because of their wicker lined seats ; Wings/Flags/Flares (W/F/F) : Characteristics used to designate Union Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific's paint scheme and engine type. Wings = "Wing" Decal on the engine nose, Flags = "American Flag" Decal on engine body, Flares = "Flared Radiators" of certain SD70Ms on the long hood. Some UP engines have one or more of these characteristics. ; Worms in love (US) : A name for the logo of the former Penn Central Transportation, Penn Central Railroad logo which combined the letters P and C into a single monogram. ;Wye (rail), Wye (US) : Wye

Three railroad tracks in a triangular form with switches at all three corners, can be used to turn a train around

X

; X-ing (US) : RR Xing Sign

Crossing

Y

; Yellowbonnet : One of two Santa Fe paint schemes. The standard freight scheme from 1972 until the BNSF merger was dark blue with yellow on the front, with the same color division as the warbonnet scheme. It is also known as Bluebonnet. Yellowbonnet can also mean a warbonnet unit with only the red painted over, resulting in a silver and yellow locomotive; this was used on passenger engines transferred to freight service after the formation of Amtrak. ; YN1 :

's first yellow-nose paint scheme; gray overall with dark blue on the top half of the cab and yellow on the front of the nose; blue "CSX" lettering ; YN2 : CSX SD40-2 8376 in Dalton, Georgia

CSX's second yellow-nose paint scheme; more yellow on the nose; the whole cab is dark blue, along with a stripe on the side; blue or yellow "CSX" lettering

Z

; Zebra Stripes : A Santa Fe locomotive in the early black scheme with white warning stripes. CN Rail has also used this scheme on earlier locomotives. ; Z-Train : An intermodal train (such as the ZBRLC or ZLTLC). Such trains are commonly operated by

and Union Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific. Usually the hottest (fastest), highest priority train.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * *

0–9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

Notes

References

Further reading