This article contains a list of

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...

used to varying degrees by railfans, trainspotters, and railway employees in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, including nicknames for various locomotives and multiple units. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. There may be significant regional variation in usage.

A

;

Absolute block signalling Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines whe ...

: A British

signalling 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'' ...

scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one

train 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 transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time ; Aspect : The indication displayed by a colour-light signal (e.g. a yellow aspect) ; Autocoach : A passenger coach fitted with a driving cab and controls for use in an autotrain ;

Automatic warning system The Automatic Warning System (AWS) was introduced in the 1950s in the United Kingdom to provide a train driver with an audible warning and visual reminder that they were approaching a distant signal at caution. Its operation was later extended ...

(AWS) : The specific form of limited cab signalling introduced in 1948 in the United Kingdom to help train drivers observe and obey warning signals

B

; Baby Deltic : D5900 class

Bo-Bo B-B and Bo-Bo are the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and British classifications of wheel arrangement for railway locomotives with four axles in two individual bogies. They are equivalent to the B′B′ and Bo′Bo′ classifications ...

diesel-electric locomotives, constructed by the

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during t ...

company. They used a single

Napier Deltic The Napier Deltic engine is a British opposed-piston engine, opposed-piston valveless, supercharged Uniflow scavenging, uniflow scavenged, two-stroke diesel engine used in marine diesel engine, marine and locomotive applications, designed and ...

engine/generator combination, as opposed to the two-engines layout and Co-Co wheel arrangement of the much longer Deltic locomotives from the same manufacturer, to which they bore a very strong family resemblance. ; Baby Warship : North British D6300 class locomotives, which used one diesel engine coupled to a hydraulic transmission, making them effectively half a D600 Warship or D800 Warship, each of which had two engines ; Bagpipes :

British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33, also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton, is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives, ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962. They were produced as a more ...

/1 locomotives, specifically those fitted for push-pull working with 4TC stock ; Basils : A nickname for the

British Rail Class 755 The British Rail Class 755 is a class of bi-mode multiple unit passenger train built by Stadler Rail for Greater Anglia. Part of the FLIRT modular train family, the trains first entered service on 29 July 2019 and are used on regional and loca ...

bi-mode / diesel multiple units. Named for the TV character

Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom '' Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or c ...

due to many teething problems on introduction. ; Bed pan : A name used for the service that used to operate between ''Bed''ford and London St. ''Pan''cras; this service has subsequently been replaced by cross-London service on the Thameslink route. It is sometimes used when referring to the line from Bedford to St Pancras, and not any service in particular. ;

Black Five The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were numbe ...

: A

LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were numbe ...

. Class of

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 loco ...

built in the UK, named from their black 'mixed-traffic' livery and 'Class 5' power rating. ; Blood and Custard : The Crimson and Cream livery used on BR's coaches during the 1950s and 60s ; Bobby : A signaller. From

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

; originally, the railway police were responsible for signalling. ; Bodysnatcher :

British Rail Class 57 The British Rail Class 57 is a type of diesel locomotive that was remanufactured from Class 47s by Brush Traction of Loughborough between 1998 and 2004. In reference to these locomotives being re-manufactured, they are often referred to by en ...

diesel-electric locomotives—made by transplanting a General Motors reconditioned power unit and alternator into a Class 47 bodyshell Bettendorf truck at Illinois Railway Museum

Bettendorf truck at Illinois Railway Museum

;

Bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of tr ...

: The undercarriage assembly of rolling stock incorporating the

train wheel A train wheel or rail wheel is a type of wheel specially designed for use on railway tracks. The wheel acts as a rolling component, typically press fitted onto an axle and mounted directly on a railway carriage or locomotive, or indirectly on a ...

s, suspension, brakes and, in powered units, the ''

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multipl ...

s'' ; Booking clerk : A member of staff at railway stations, employed to sell tickets to passengers, able to provide advice on ticketing and route options, and responsible for the daily accounts and auditing of the station ; Bone :

British Rail Class 58 The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. The narrow body with cabs at either end led to them being given the nickname "Bone" by rail enthusiasts. Their design represented a major departure fr ...

diesel-electric locomotive—from the shape: the body is narrow with wide cabs. (Also called

egg timer An egg timer or kitchen timer is a device whose primary function is to assist in timing during cooking; the name comes from the first timers initially being used for the timing of cooking eggs. Early designs simply counted down for a specific pe ...

.) Ironically, one of the final workings of this class was a railfan special called the Bone Breaker which ended in a bufferstop collision and a passenger breaking his leg.Class 58 Loco Group
; Bone Shaker :

London Underground A60 and A62 Stock The London Underground A60 and A62 Stock, commonly referred to as A Stock, was a type of sub-surface rolling stock which operated on the Metropolitan line of the London Underground from 12 June 1961 to 26 September 2012, and on the East London ...

, due to the shakey ride of the old trains. The nickname was coined by an ITV News reporter during a report on the A Stock's last day of service on the Metropolitan Line. ;

Brake van Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake ...

: A heavy vehicle with powerful brakes which was attached to the rear of goods trains in the days when most wagons were not fitted with a continuous braking system. Its function was to supplement the locomotive's braking power in slowing and stopping the train and to keep the couplings uniformly tight by selective light braking to avoid snatching and breakages. It also conveyed the train guard, hence its alternative name of ''"guards van"''. Partly analogous to ''caboose'' and its synonyms. ; Brush : British Rail Class 47 diesel-electric locomotive, also known as the "Brush Type 4". Followers of this type are often known as "Brush bashers". ; Bubble car : A

British Rail Class 121 The British Rail Class 121 is a single-car double-ended diesel multiple unit. 16 driving motor vehicles were built from 1960, numbered 55020–55035. These were supplemented by ten single-ended trailer vehicles, numbered 56280–56289 (later renu ...

122 122 may refer to: *122 (number), a natural number * AD 122, a year in the 2nd century AD * 122 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * ''122'' (film), a 2019 Egyptian psychological horror film *"One Twenty Two", a 2022 single by the American rock band Bo ...

single railcar. This name was later made official by

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rai ...

, the final company to have operated the 121 in mainline service. ; Bullhead rail : A steel rail section commonly used in 60 ft lengths on almost all railway lines throughout Britain until c1950, which due to its shape must be supported in cast iron chairs that are screwed to the sleepers. It is still found on some London Underground lines, on secondary and preserved lines, and in yards. The rail has two heads (shaped somewhat like a vertical dumbbell) which led some people to assume that when one side became worn, the rail could be inverted and reinstalled for further service rather than being replaced (it can't, because the two heads are different sizes, and by the time the top became worn down sufficiently to fit in the chairs when the rail is inverted, both the top and the bottom of the rail would be too small for further use).

C

;

Cant Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a lan ...

: The superelevation angle of a track (the relative level of one rail to the other), typically around a curve ; Cape : A British Railways telegraphic codeword to note the cancellation of a passenger train serviceBritish Railway Telegraphic Codewords
– ''from booklet BR30064 (accessed 2009-02-12)'' ; Car

transporter wagon A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon ( UIC) or railroad car (US) designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge. In most cases, a transporter wagon is a nar ...

or car transporter van : A specialized freight car for transporting automobiles ;Cat : A British Rail Class 68 diesel-electric locomotive ; CessOnLondonUnderground

: The area either side of the railway immediately off the ballast shoulder which provides a safe area for workers to stand when trains approach ;

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

: A cast iron bracket screwed to the sleeper and used to support bull head rail that is held in place by a wooden key (wedge) or spring steel clip—still found on preserved railways and in yards ; Check rail : 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 and switches and crossings ;

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 t ...

, funnel, or stack : A smokestack ; Chopper :

British Rail Class 20 The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part be ...

diesel-electric locomotive ; Chord : A curve connecting two otherwise-unconnected rail lines that lie at tangents to that curve (Usually both lines are straight, one being at a higher level than the other.) ; Clag : Originally used to describe the exhaust of steam locomotives, "clag" is a term describing the often spectacular (particularly blackened, as in Class 37, or whitesmoked, as in Class 55) exhaust emissions of many older British diesel locomotives, especially, Classes 52 and 55.Llangollen Diesels
/ref> ;

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

: Railway vehicle for use in passenger trains ; Coffee pot : Applied to the shape of SR Q1 class steam locomotives ; Composite : A passenger car with more than one class of accommodation provided (e.g. first and third). In earlier days of three-class travel, first and second class, and second and third class composites were also built. A car with first, second, and third classes was also known as a tri-composite. ; Connecting rod : The drive rod connecting the crosshead to a driving-wheel or axle in a steam locomotiveWhite (1968), p 465-466. ;

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...

(UK) : The mechanical connector at either end of a railway carriage allowing it to couple together with other carriages to form a train ; Crompton :

diesel-electric locomotive (fitted with

Crompton Parkinson Crompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company. It was formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co. with F & A. Parkinson Ltd. The brand is now part of Brook Crompton. History Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer foun ...

electrical equipment). See also Slim Jim.

D

; Darth Vaders :

British Rail Class 460 The British Rail Class 460 ( 8-GAT) was a class of electric multiple-unit passenger trains built by Alstom at Washwood Heath between 1999 and 2001. They were part of Alstom's Juniper family, which also includes Classes and . For the entirety ...

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

electric multiple units (EMUs), so called due to their sloping cab ends, which resembled the front of the helmet worn by the Star Wars villain of the same name ; Deltics :

British Rail Class 55 The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, or English Electric type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on ...

diesel-electric locomotives (the "Deltics"), which use twin Napier Deltic power units ;

Detonator A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common. The commercial use of explosives uses electr ...

: 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 ; Doodlebug : Waggon und Maschinenbau railbuses E79960-64, introduced 1958 ; Down : A direction (usually away from London, other capital city, or the headquarters of the railway concerned) or side (on left-running railways, the left side when facing in the down direction). ; Drain : The

Waterloo & City line The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a London Underground shuttle line that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampsh ...

, a short line in London, is nicknamed "The Drain". ; Driver : The operator of a railway locomotive ;

Driving trailer 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 ...

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

Driving Van Trailer A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of operating trains with DVTs is ...

(DVT) : A class of

control 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 ...

; Dusty Bin :

British Rail Class 321 The British Rail Class 321 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works in three batches between 1988 and 1991. The class uses alternating current (AC) overhead ...

, from the game show

3-2-1 ''3–2–1'' was a British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, from 29 July 1978 to 24 December 1988, with Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called '' Un, dos, tres... res ...

, featuring the animated character "Dusty Bin" ; Dutch : The livery of British Rail Civil Engineers department rolling stock, due to the resemblance of

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

's corporate livery ; Dyson :

British Rail Class 92 The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive, which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Great Britain an ...

E

; Egg Timer :

diesel-electric locomotive

F

; Fag packet livery : The original livery of the

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-cit ...

HSTs—a green colour scheme, fading to

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals ...

with shiny gold stripe below the windows, so called because it resembles the packaging of a brand of Rothman's cigarettes ('fags') ; Ferret and Dartboard : The second British Railways emblem introduced in 1956, featuring a lion rampant holding a wheel. From a distance the wheel has a passing resemblance to a dartboard. ;

Fishplate A fishplate joins two lengths of track A fishplate, splice bar or joint bar is a metal connecting plate used to bolt the ends of two rails into a continuous track. The name is derived from ''fish'', a wooden reinforcement of a "built-up" ship's ...

: A metal plate that joins the ends of rails in jointed track ; Flat junction : A junction in which all track crossings take place

at grade AT or at may refer to: Geography Austria * Austria (ISO 2-letter country code) * .at, Internet country code top-level domain United States * Atchison County, Kansas (county code) * The Appalachian Trail (A.T.), a 2,180+ mile long mountaino ...

and routings must therefore be controlled by signals and

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively ...

;

Flat wagon Flat wagons (sometimes flat beds, flats or rail flats, US: flatcars), as classified by the International Union of Railways (UIC), are railway goods wagons that have a flat, usually full-length, deck (or 2 decks on car transporters) and little ...

: 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 modes of transport – from sh ...

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. ; Fly shunting : The practice of uncoupling a locomotive from a wagon in motion and running over point, whereupon an employee on the ground lines the point to divert the vehicle onto an adjacent track. Once commonplace, this practice has led to several lawsuits against railway companies and is now strictly prohibited due to the high risk to life and property. ; Flying Banana : The first design of GWR diesel railcars, introduced in 1932. This has since been adopted for the Network Rail

New Measurement Train The New Measurement Train (NMT), also known as the ''Flying Banana'', is a specialised train which operates in the United Kingdom to assess the condition of track so that engineers can determine where to work. It is a specially converted InterCi ...

, due to its all-over yellow livery. Also occasionally used to describe the

High Speed Train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

. ; Formation : The group of rail vehicles making up a train, or more commonly a group of locomotives connected together for multiple-unit (MU) operation ; Four foot : The area between the running rails of a

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

track; the actual distance is . See also ''six-foot'' and ''ten-foot''.

G

;

Goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not ...

: The products which are carried ;

Goods van A covered goods wagon or van is a railway goods wagon which is designed for the transportation of moisture-susceptible goods and therefore fully enclosed by sides and a fixed roof. They are often referred to simply as covered wagons, and this is ...

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons ( North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon typ ...

, or goods truck, railway wagon, or wagon : 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 ; Goyle : A

British Rail Class 31 The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and previously as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62. They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. Construction of the first locomot ...

diesel-electric locomotive—from "

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry wall ...

" (after the somewhat ungainly headcode boxes above the driving cabs) ; Gricer : A rail enthusiast ; Grid or grid iron : A British Rail Class 56 diesel-electric locomotive, from the large grilles British Rail Class 08 Shunter - 08911 - National Railway Museum - York - 2005-10-15

British Rail Class 08 Shunter - 08911 - National Railway Museum - York - 2005-10-15

; Gronk : A British Rail Class 08 or Class 09 shunter ; Growler : A

British Rail Class 37 The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999. ...

diesel-electric locomotive (from the engine sound) ; Guard : 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. ; Gurgler : A nickname for the

, on account of its engine noise

H

;

Headshunt 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 ...

: 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 ; Hoover : A

British Rail Class 50 The British Rail Class 50 is a class of diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at . Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50s were initially on a 10-year l ...

diesel-electric locomotive—from the sound of the engine cooling fans being similar to a

vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

, prior to the refurbishment which removed this characteristic ; Hymek : A D7000 class locomotive using a V16 Maybach diesel engine coupled to a

Mekydro A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the p ...

hydraulic transmission 365537 B Stevenage

; Happy Train : A

British Rail Class 365 The British Rail Class 365 ''Networker Express'' were dual-voltage ( and 750 V DC) electric multiple-unit passenger trains built by ABB at Holgate Road Carriage Works in 1994 and 1995 to operate services in South East England and on the Grea ...

because their revised front end resembles a grinning face.

J

; Javelin :

British Rail Class 395 The British Rail Class 395 ''Javelin'' is a dual-voltage electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger train built by Hitachi Rail as part of the Hitachi A-train ''AT300'' family for high-speed commuter services on High Speed 1 and elsewhere on the ...

electric multiple units, due to their usage during the London 2012 Summer Olympics on ''Olympic Javelin Shuttle'' services ; Joint station : A railway station at which tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railways

K

; Kestrel : A

British Rail HS4000 HS4000 Kestrel was a prototype high-powered mainline diesel locomotive that was built in 1967 by Brush Traction, Loughborough, as a technology demonstrator for potential future British Rail and export orders. ''therailwaycentre.com'' The locomoti ...

; Key : Timber or sprung steel block used to secure Bullhead rail into the

chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

L

; Lamp : A portable (often handheld) light source that is used to signal train crews 50049 Defiance

; Large-logo livery : One of the first new

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

locomotive liveries applied after many years of all-over

rail blue The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating u ...

. For this livery, the loco cabs were entirely 'warning yellow', with black window surrounds (the yellow usually wrapping round behind the cab doors); the main bodysides were still

but featured very large running numbers with a large white British Rail 'double arrow' logo in the middle, the full height of the body. It was applied to refurbished Class 50 locomotives, among others. ; Lightsaber : The cutter's torch, coined by

Modern Railways ''Modern Railways'' is a British monthly magazine covering the rail transport industry which was published by Ian Allan until March 2012, and Key Publishing since then. It has been published since 1962. The magazine was originally based in Sh ...

magazine as a pun on the Class 460 'Darth Vaders' having their front ends cut off as part of the amalgamation with the Class 458s ; Location case : A trackside cabinet used to house signalling equipment such as relays or transformers ;

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, ...

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

M

; Main line : A principal artery of a railway system ; Merry-go-round (MGR) train : Coal train running between a coal mine and a power station, loading and unloading without stopping or shunting ; Metrovick : Locomotives constructed by Metropolitan-Vickers, especially the

British Rail Class 28 The British Rail Class 28 ( Metro-Vick Type 2) diesel-electric locomotives, known variously as 'Metrovicks', 'Crossleys' or 'Co-Bos', were built under the Pilot Scheme for diesel locomotives as part of the British Railways 1955 Modernisation ...

(D5700 class) Co-Bo ; Mickey Mouse : An Ivatt 2MT class

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing whee ...

steam locomotive ;Milk Float : A

British Rail Class 313 The British Rail Class 313 is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) train built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works between February 1976 and April 1977. They were the first production units that were derive ...

electric multiple unit, due to the distinctive humming sound made by this class of EMU ; Motion : Collective term for the

connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksha ...

coupling rod A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have them. The coupling rods transfer ...

s, and

valve gear The valve gear of a steam engine is the mechanism that operates the inlet and exhaust valves to admit steam into the cylinder and allow exhaust steam to escape, respectively, at the correct points in the cycle. It can also serve as a reversing ...

—forms part of the

running gear In railway terminology the term running gear refers to those components of a railway vehicle that run passively on the rails, unlike those of the driving gear. Traditionally these are the wheels, axles, axle boxes, springs and vehicle frame of a ...

; Motor train : A branch-line train consisting of a steam locomotive and passenger carriages that can be driven from either end by means of rodding to the regulator and an additional

vacuum brake The vacuum brake is a braking system employed on trains and introduced in the mid-1860s. A variant, the automatic vacuum brake system, became almost universal in British train equipment and in countries influenced by British practice. Vacuum bra ...

valve. The fireman remains with the locomotive and, when the driver is at the other end, the fireman controls the cut off and vacuum ejectors in addition to his usual duties. ; MTVal : A high-speed train consisting of one MTU engined power car, and one Valenta engined power car in the formation ;

Multiple working On the UK rail network, multiple working is where two or more traction units (locomotives, diesel multiple-units or electric multiple-units) are coupled together in such a way that they are all under the control of one driver (multiple-unit ...

: 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 transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often kno ...

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

N

; Networker Clubman : A

British Rail Class 168 The Class 168 ''Clubman'' is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train used on Chiltern Line services between London Marylebone and the West Midlands. One unit has been converted to hybrid operation as of 2022. Description The ...

Clubman unit with original front end, so called because it resembles the front end of a Networker ; Normal : A non-enthusiast

O

;

Open wagon Open wagons (trucks in the UK) form a large group of railway goods wagons designed primarily for the transportation of bulk goods that are not moisture-retentive and can usually be tipped, dumped or shovelled. The International Union of R ...

: 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 ; Overbridge : A bridge over the railway ; Overlap : A distance (normally 180 metres or set according to the permitted speed of the line) beyond a stop signal which must be clear before the preceding stop signal can display a proceed aspect; allows a margin in case a train overshoots a signal before stopping

P

; Peak : A

British Rail Class 44 The British Rail Class 44 or Sulzer Type 4 diesel locomotives were built by British Railways' Derby Works between 1959 and 1960, intended for express passenger services. They were originally numbered D1-D10 and named after British mountains, an ...

, Class 45, or Class 46 diesel-electric locomotive—so named because the earliest of these loco types, the ten Class 44s, were named after mountains 2402 'County of Hampshire' at Wool

; Person in charge of possession (PICOP) : The railway or contractor's official responsible for safe working during engineer's possession ; Plastic pig : A

British Rail Class 442 The British Rail Class 442 ( 5-WES) ''Wessex Electrics'' were electric multiple unit passenger trains introduced in 1988 by Network SouthEast on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth to coincide with the electrification of ...

, "Wessex Electrics" (electric multiple units)—so-named for being mostly made out of plastics in construction ;

Point machine A point machine (also known as a point motor, switch machine or switch motor) is a device for operating railway turnouts especially at a distance. Overview In the earliest times, points were operated manually by levers. Gradually, these were cen ...

: A motor or device which operates points ; Points : The articulating rails that determine the route to be taken ;Possession :Closure of a section of railway for engineering or track renewal purposes ; Predator : A British Rail Class 70, a reference to the alien of the same name from the American films RCBTHandcar

; Pump trolley : A small, hand-powered railroad car used for track inspection

R

; Rake : A set of rolling stock coupled together ; Rat :

British Rail Class 25 The British Rail Class 25, also known as the Sulzer Type 2, is a class of 327 diesel locomotives built between 1961 and 1967 for British Rail. They were numbered in two series, D5151-D5299 and D7500-D7677. Background The Class 24 locomotives ...

diesel-electric locomotives—and related classes—reputedly originating from a term used on the LMR of British Rail in the 1960s where 25s were as common as "rats"; the Scottish-based Class 26 and 27 were sometimes known as "MacRats". See also Splut. ; Rebel Alliance :

South West Trains Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017. SWT operated the majori ...

, coined by

as a pun on the Darth Vader front ends of the s being cut off as part of the amalgamation with the Class 458 units (which amidst the pun was dubbed as their 'star fleet', all a pun on

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

) ; Roarer : Early British Rail 25 kV AC electric locomotive of types 'AL1'–'AL5' (later Classes 81, 82, 83, 84, 85), due to the loud whine made by the traction motor cooling fans when the locomotive is at rest. The name originated with the AL3 type. Although the other types exhibit a less noticeable noise, the name is applied equally to any of them. ; Rule Book : The system of rules for the safe operation of the railway, maintained by the

Rail Safety and Standards Board The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is a British independent company limited by guarantee. Interested parties include various rail industry organisations, including Network Rail, train operating companies (TOCs), and rolling stock compa ...

. ;

Running powers Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may cont ...

: The legal right of one railway company to use the tracks of another, as agreed to by the companies concerned or their predecessors

S

EWS diesel locomotive 66188 at Cambridge station

; Shed : A Canadian-built Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive (from the roof shape and also the corrugated bodysides) ;

Shunter 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 ...

:# A small locomotive used for assembling trains and moving Railway wagons around :# A person involved in such work ;

Signal passed at danger A signal passed at danger (SPAD), known in the United States as a stop signal overrun and in Canada as passing a stop signal, is an event on a railway where a train passes a stop signal without authority. In the United States and Canada, this ...

(SPAD) : An incident when a train passes a stop signal without authority ; Signal-post telephone (SPT) : A direct no-dial telephone link to the relevant signal box, positioned on or near a signal ; Silver bullet :

China Clay Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

slurry wagons ; Six foot : The space between a pair of adjacent lines, nominally six feet wide. See also ''four-foot'' and ''ten-foot''. ; Skipper : Class 142 DMUs ; Slack : A temporary speed restriction to protect, for example, sections of track in poor condition and awaiting repair. Also applies to the timing tolerance included in timetable schedules to allow for such restrictions. ;

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 ...

: Looseness in a train caused by mating clearances in couplers ; Slam-door train : Any diesel or electric multiple unit with manually opening hinged doors (mostly the British rail classes

423 __NOTOC__ Year 423 ( CDXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marinianus and Asclepiodotus (or, less frequently, year ...

and

421 __NOTOC__ Year 421 ( CDXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

), so called after the noise made by passengers slamming the doors Railroad tieswoodconcrete

; Sleeper : Bars of wood or concrete placed beneath and perpendicular to track to support the rails ; Slim Jim : Narrow-bodied version of the

diesel-electric locomotive (identified as sub-class 33/2)—built for the confined loading gauge on the Hastings line. See also

Crompton Crompton may refer to Place names *Crompton (West Warwick), a community in West Warwick, Rhode Island, US *Crompton, Greater Manchester, in Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester, England formerly in Lancashire *Crompton Urban District, an obsole ...

). ; Slip coach : A passenger coach that is disconnected from a train without the train having to stop. While the train continued on its route, the slip coach would be guided and stopped by a guard on board using the coach's own brake mechanism. This practice was almost entirely limited to the United Kingdom and was discontinued in the 1960s. ;Spinner :A Midland Railway 115 Class steam locomotive, due to their large driving wheels ;Splut : Another nickname for the

, referring to their habit of spluttering when their engines cut out and failed, which they often did. See also

Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' ( pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandico ...

. ;

Station pilot 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 inte ...

: A shunting engine based at a major passenger station and used for passenger-train shunting duties ;Stop and examine : A now-defunct British Railways rule which required a train crew to stop the train and examine the cause of an unexpected noise, vibration, or other irregular events. ; Subway : A tunnel passing underneath the railway tracks to allow passengers to cross from one platform to another ; Super 60 : A rebuilt class 60, upgraded by DBS. Mainly seen in an overall red livery, with half-yellow fronts, but a couple can be seen in the original Sector livery. ; Superelevation : The banking of railway track on curves. Specifically, the practice on high speed lines (where the cant needs to be higher) of gently introducing the elevation of the outer rail before the bend starts, in order to avoid sudden lurches. Synonymous with

cant Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a lan ...

T

; Tadpole : A 3R diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU), named due to having two vehicles 8 ft 2½ in wide and one vehicle 9 ft 3 in wide ;

Tank engine A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomot ...

: A locomotive that carries its own fuel and water instead of hauling a

tender Tender may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Illegal Tender'' (2007), a film directed by Franc. Reyes * ''Tender'' (2012), a short film by Liz Tomkins * ''Tender'' (2019), a short film by Darryl Jones and Anthony Lucido * ''Tender'' (2019), a sh ...

; Teddy Bear : A

British Rail Class 14 The British Rail Class 14 is a type of small diesel-hydraulic locomotive built in the mid-1960s. Twenty-six of these 0-6-0 locomotives were ordered in January 1963, to be built at British Railways' Swindon Works. The anticipated work for this c ...

diesel-hydraulic locomotive for shunting and trip working. Coined by Swindon Works' foreman George Cole who quipped "We've built the Great Bear, now we're going to build a Teddy Bear!". ; Ten foot : The space between sets of lines (e.g. between pairs of fast and slow lines). See also ''four-foot'' and ''six-foot''. ; Terminus (UK) : A station sited where a railway line or service ends or terminates W8FreshwaterKingscote

; Terrier : The

LB&SCR A1 Class The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 class is a class of British steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class has r ...

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangement ...

steam locomotive, on account of its distinctive "bark" when running ; Theatre indicator : An illuminated number usually attached to Railway signal, signal indicating arrival Railway platform, platform for train approaching a station ; Thousands : British Rail Class 52, Class 52 diesel-hydraulic locomotives (the "Westerns") given the number range beginning with D1000 ; Thumper : Southern DEMU (BR Classes British Rail Class 201, 201–British Rail Class 207, 207)—unlike conventional DMUs these used a single, comparatively large diesel engine and electric generator mounted immediately behind one driving cab. The power units made a distinctive "thumping" noise when working hard. ; Thunderbird : A locomotive kept on standby at a strategic location, ready to rescue a failed train—from ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' ; Toothpaste : The livery used by Network SouthEast. So called due to the red, white and blue colours resembling the colours of striped toothpaste. ; Top and tail : A train with locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction ; Tractor : A

diesel-electric locomotive, possibly from the engine sound, also because they could be found hauling almost anything as a mixed-traffic design 465034 at Waterloo East

; Train driver : The operator of a locomotive ; Train engine : The locomotive closest to the train during a double-heading operation ; Train register : A book or loose-leaf sheets kept in a signal box and used to record the passage of trains, messages passed, and other prescribed events ; Train shed : The part of a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. Also known as an ''overall roof''. Wye

; Wye (rail), Triangle : Three railway tracks in a triangular form with points at all three corners—can be used to turn a train around ; Tug : A British Rail Class 60 diesel-electric locomotive, as named because of their tremendous pulling power, size and sluggish nature. Class 60s upgraded by DB Schenker are called 'Super Tugs'.

U

; U-Boat : A Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway SR U Class, U class

steam locomotive ; Underbridge : A bridge carrying the railway and allowing a roadway to pass under the railway ; Up : A direction (usually towards London, other capital city, or the headquarters of the railway concerned) or side (on left-running railways, the left side when facing in the up direction). The opposite of down. The up direction is usually associated with even-numbered trains and signals.

V

; Goods van, Van : 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

W

; Warship : A British Rail Class 41 (Warship Class), D600 or British Rail Class 42, D800 class diesel-hydraulic locomotives, most of which were named after Royal Navy vessels ; Water column (railroad), Water crane : A device used for delivering a large volume of water into the tank or tender of a steam locomotive ; Wessie : A

electric multiple unit—from the "Wessex Electric" brand name used at launch ; Western : A British Rail Class 52 diesel-hydraulic type 4 locomotive, 74 of which ran on BR between 1961 and 1977. All were named in a series beginning "''Western...''". Seven of the class have been preserved. ; Whistler : A British Rail Class 40 diesel-electric locomotive, from the turbocharger sound; this nickname is also occasionally applied to

locomotives. ; Wizzo : A British Rail Class 52 diesel-hydraulic type 4 locomotive ; Woolworth : A South Eastern and Chatham Railway SECR N class, N class

steam locomotive, built at Royal Arsenal, Woolwich Arsenal ; Worst or WorstGroup : A derogatory nickname for FirstGroup, especially on First Great Western "Worst Late Western" (since re-branded as Great Western Railway (train operating company), Great Western Railway) and First Capital Connect "Worst Crapital Disconnect" (since ceased operations) or Hull Trains, First Hull Trains "Worst Hell Trains"

Y

; Yeoman : An early name for a British Rail Class 59, Class 59 diesel-electric locomotive, the first privately owned (by Foster Yeoman) locomotives to operate on British Rail, owing to their names starting with "''Yeoman''" such as 59 001 ''Yeoman Endeavour''Supplement to April 1990 edition of ''Railway Magazine''

References

{{Reflist, 30em Glossaries of rail transport, United Kingdom Rail transport in the United Kingdom