double-track

double-track (third-person singular simple present double-tracks, present participle double-tracking, simple past and past participle double-tracked)

double-tracks (present singular third-person)
double-tracking (participle present)
double-tracked (participle past)
double-tracked (past)

Other engineering upgrades include the reinstatement of Platform 4 at Birmingham Snow Hill, partially double-tracking the line between Ledbury and Shelwick, and freight loops between Nuneaton and Leicester.

2023 March 8, “Network News: Midlands presses for rail hub scheme”, in RAIL, number 978, page 14:

(rail transport) To provide double track.


single-track

[…]a single-track main line between Richmond, Ind., and Norwood Heights, Ohio

1942 February 1, “Pennsylvania Installs Centralized Traffic Control On 60.7 Miles of Single Track”, in Railway Signalling, Chicago, page 78:

It was once the busiest singletrack section of railway line in the country but, almost three decades after its closure, the short route which once linked Tunbridge Wells’s two stations is a ghostly presence

2013 March 1, “Fears for future of vital link between two train stations”, in The Kent and Sussex Courier, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, page 14:

On the now defunct Guildford-to-Horsham line, there was a foolproof way of avoiding collisions on singletrack lines

2016 February 18, Peter Le Feuvre, “Letter to the editor”, in The Daily Telegraph, page 17:

Basingstoke-Exeter will test this. From Salisbury westwards, it's largely single-track since British Rail downgraded it in 1967. There's a ten-mile loop between Templecombe and Yeovil, as well as shorter loops at Chard, Axminster and Honiton.

2025 February 5, Philip Haigh, “Where track and train integration will be put to the test”, in RAIL, number 1028, page 51:

(rail transport) Having only a single track so that trains may only run in one direction at a time.


solebar

solebars (plural)
sole-bar (alternative)

The underframe, which has been designed to take buffing loads of 200 tons both on the centre coupler and on the retractable side buffers, consists of two centre girders from which cantilevers project to support the solebars, which in turn carry the bodyside structure.

1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:

The shuttle locomotive body is a conventional stress-skin monocoque structure, with longitudinal members at solebar and cantrail levels.

1995, Roger Ford, “Locomotives”, in Colin J. Kirkland, editor, Engineering the Channel Tunnel, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, Rolling stock, page 178:

The bolster to solebar weld on one side, and the weld between the solebar and the front headstock on the other side had broken completely.

2001, A.P.Brights, N. Kirk, S. Manteghi and P.J. Murrell, edited by Brain S. Neale, Forensic engineering: the investigation of failures, Thomas Telford, →ISBN, Ladbroke Grove crashworthiness accident investigation, page 16:

[...] the original Chalice built coaches have a deep solebar, while the Keef coaches were much shallower.

2001, Peter Scott, A History of the Butlin's Railways: The Story of Billy Butlin's Amusement Park and Holiday Camp Miniature Railways, Including Other Associated Railways and Transport Systems, →ISBN, page 72:

Sometimes the door also cuts off main structural components such as the solebar or cantrail.

2005, Jan Prockat, Developing large structural parts for railway application using a fibre reinforced polymer design, Univerlagtuberlin, →ISBN, Lightweight Design, page 44:

(rail transport, UK, Australia) One of the longitudinal beams running along either side of a railway vehicle, onto which the bodywork is mounted, in passenger-carrying vehicles usually forming the side or the base of the floor.


check rail

check rails (plural)
check-rail (alternative)
checkrail (alternative)

I think it of great importance that the whole of this portion of the Brecon and Mertyr Railway, which originally was an old mineral line (the old Rumney), should be carefully examined by the Company's engineer, to ascertain if there are any other curves of 10 or 12 chains radius or less on the running lines, and that such curves should be rendered more safe, by the addition of check rails round such curves.

1869, Colonel W. Yolland, “Brecon and Merythr Railway”, in Accounts and Papers volume 21 Railways; Turnpikes; Highways; Harbours, &c., Session 10 December 1868 — 11 August 1869, Volume LIV., House of Commons, Railways, page 42:

The uniformity of the wheel diameters of diesel and electric locomotives and m.u. trains impairs the spreading of grease from one point fed by the lubricator and the growing traffic of m.u. trains and railcars has increased the need for lubrication and for check rails in certain places. [...] if necessary, they [lubricators] can be adapted to apply grease to the backs of wheels in order to lubricate the face of continuous check rails.

1962 December, “Talking of Trains: Rail and flange lubrication”, in Modern Railways, page 372:

The pressure of the flange of the leading wheel against the outer rail leads not only to excessive wear but also to risk of tyre climbing up over the rail. To minimise this risk, a check rail is fixed inside the inner rail and made parallel to it.

2000, J. S. Mundrey, “Railway Curves”, in Railway Track Engineering, 3rd edition, Tata McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, Movement of Vehicles on Curves, page 199:

The extra rail, which is called a check rail, relieves the sideways pressure of the wheels against the out rail, and prevents the wheels from mounting the outer rail

2008, John Wolfe Wolfe Barry, “Permanent Way”, in Railway Appliances, BiblioBazaar, →ISBN, Superelevation, page 58/60:

"Given the nature of the bridge and the potential consequences of a derailment, it's hardly surprising that there are orthodox check-rails all the way across the bridge.

2020 August 26, “Stop & Examine”, in Rail, page 70, about a bridge across the Irrawaddy in Burma:

(rail transport) A rail laid parallel to a running rail to guide wheels through points, rail crossings, and round curves, to reduce wear and the risk of derailments such as those due to flange climb.


sheeter

The Army provided a yard foreman, sheeters, loaders, and checkers to augment the railway staff of two men porters, one lad porter, and a female clerk.

1947 January and February, “Wartime Traffic at Tanfield, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 47:

(rail transport) A person who put sheets (tarpaulins) on open railway wagons to keep the loads secure and dry in transit.


light engine

After a week's manœuvrability tests at Winwick, the locomotive was to undergo three weeks' trials, light engine and loaded, between Whitchurch and Tattenhall Junction.

1960 December, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 767:

(rail transport) A locomotive running on its own, or with other powered locomotives, with no wagons or carriages attached.


lengthman

lengthmen (plural)
length man (alternative)
lengths man (alternative)
lengthsman (alternative)

From length + -man (suffix denoting a man or person who is an expert in an area or who takes part in an activity).

suffix

Plans have already been prepared for signalboxes, lengthmen's huts, and first aid rooms. […] Lengthmen's huts are to be built in brick.

1952 February, “British Railways Standard Buildings”, in Railway Magazine, page 74:

A derailment which occurred on April 18 last between Laindon and Pitsea on the London Tilbury & Southend Line was caused by a lengthman who in a moment of aberration clipped a set of spring catch points in the derailing position, concludes Col. J. R. H. Robertson in his report […]

1961 December, “Talking of Trains: Derailment near Laindon”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 717:

I started working on the canal when I was only 14. I was a lengths man on the Shrewsbury, the canal. It was my job to cut hedges and to keep the toe path^([sic – meaning towpath]) clear.

2006 October, Mal Edwards, “Money for Old Rope”, in BBC Wales, archived from the original on 2021-04-21:

It became common practice for day-to-day maintenance to be undertaken by a number of roadmen, each appointed to maintain a length of road. This gave rise to the term, ‘the lengthsman’. Over time, greater mechanisation and centralisation replaced lengthsmen with area-based work teams, controlled from County offices and depots. […] In 2000 Herefordshire Council launched a local initiative, the ‘Lengthsman Scheme,’ to devolve some minor highway works to Parish Councils. […] Parishes are permitted to use the delegated budget to employ a local contractor to undertake the works – the lengthsman. […] Works carried out by lengthsmen can range from clearing minor storm debris discharged onto the highway, cutting back overgrown hedges encroaching on footways and verge cutting as required by the parish.

2021, “Lengthsman Scheme”, in Herefordshire Association of Local Councils, archived from the original on 2021-02-08:

(nautical, rail transport, road transport, chiefly historical) A man responsible for the care and maintenance of a length of canal, railway, or road.

ratavartija

man responsible for the care and maintenance of a length of railway or road


flangeway

(rail transport, historical) An early type of railway that used flanged rails rather than flanged wheels.

The factors in determining the width of flangeways between check rails and the main rail are the thickness of the wheel flange and the clearance allowed […]

1895, Tables and Diagrams of Switches and Crossings: A Handy Platelayer's Guide, 3rd edition, Bemrose and Sons, Flangeway clearance, page 22:

The use of a high-temperature gas torch for melting the ice out of the check-rail flangeways, was found to be effective, although somewhat tedious; neglect of this precaution may cause derailment, [...].

1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in Railway Magazine, page 178:

Insure that ample flangeway is available between the open point of switch and the stock rail; this is controlled by flange width of crane wheels using the track system

1980, United States Department of the Army, Maintenance of Trackage, United States Department of Defense, Chapter 3 Track Structure Elements, Section 3–31. Turnouts and Crossovers, Paragraph 3.31.7.4, pages 3–35:

Available at most hobby shops, this tool allows you to check track gauge, flangeway spacing and width, and many other dimensions.

2004, Jeff Wilson, “Track basics”, in Basic Trackwork for Model Railroaders: The Complete Photo Guide, Kalmbach Publishing, →ISBN, NMRA Standards Gauge, page 14:

(rail transport) The gap in road surfaces, running rails at rails at junctions, etc, that allows the wheel flange of a rail vehicle to pass.


railbus

en-noun

railbus (plural railbuses or railbusses)

They were ruled out as over-engineered and too expensive for mass production, and lost out to Class 141 and '142' railbuses, and then Class 150s.

2023 April 5, “£35,000 needed to save a Class 317 and create rebuilt '210' DMU”, in RAIL, number 980, page 8:

(rail transport) A lightweight passenger railway vehicle, similar in appearance to a bus


trackman

Drones and helicopters have been in common use by Network Rail for some time, and are a far cry from the days when all inspections were carried out by trackmen reaching remote sites on foot.

2021 November 17, “Network News: Drone success could slash NR track inspection costs”, in RAIL, number 944, page 24:

(US, rail transport) A railway employee who inspects and maintains the permanent way of a railway installation.


platelayer

Instead, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) investigation concluded that the gang were reliant upon hearing the approach of trains - "a common practice among platelayers", Assistant Inspecting Officer JPS Main concluded.

2021 September 22, Dr Mike Esbester, “Trackside safety: a permanent problem”, in RAIL, number 940, page 79:

(rail transport) A railway employee who inspects and maintains the permanent way of a railway installation.


DLR

Docklands Light Railway
w:Docklands Light Railway

(rail transport, UK) Initialism of Docklands Light Railway.


TMD

TMD (countable and uncountable, plural TMDs)

TMDs (plural)
temporomandibular joint disorder (alternative)
temporomandibular disorder (alternative)
TMJD (alternative)

traction maintenance depot
w:traction maintenance depot

(rail transport, UK) Initialism of traction maintenance depot.


(UK, rail transport) Initialism of High Speed 1, a high-speed railway between London and the Channel Tunnel.


CHW

(rail transport) The station code of Chai Wan in Hong Kong.


LAK

(rail transport) The station code of Lai King in Hong Kong.


ECS

empty coaching stock
empty coaching stock#English

(rail transport) Initialism of empty coaching stock.


empty coaching stock

(rail transport, attributive) A passenger train movement carried out without passengers on board; usually between a station and a siding or depot. Abbreviated as ECS.


empty coaching stock

(rail transport) A train consisting of empty passenger carriages or one or more empty multiple units. Abbreviated as ECS.


coaching stock

(rail transport, collectively) passenger-carrying railway coaches or (less commonly) multiple units. Contrasted with locomotives, freight wagons and engineering vehicles.


dining car

(rail transport) A carriage on a train that functions as a restaurant.


pointwork

Before long, this box will be installed nearer Grosmont (NYM) level crossing to permit control of the crossing gates (presently hand-worked) and to replace the eight-lever ground frame which currently operates the pointwork.

1979 August, Michael Harris, “A line for all reasons: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway”, in Railway World, page 412:

And for maintenance of pointwork, a six-platform service can be operated whichever throat is under possession.

2020 March 25, William Barter, “HS2: Euston or Old Oak Common?”, in Rail, page 58:

(rail transport) The engineering of sets of points on a railway, tramway, etc.


railway sleeper

railway sleeper (plural railway sleepers)

railway sleepers (plural)
railroad sleeper (alternative)

West's friends were so appalled by the nature of his death that they arranged for a wooden memorial in the churchyard of St Laurence's, constructed aptly from a railway sleeper.

2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Reading (1840)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 56:

(rail transport, chiefly UK) A railroad tie.


Euston

It was replaced by a New Euston, "bold in design and layout and in keeping with a new railway era". Betjeman was unmoved, describing it tersely as "no masterpiece" and noting that its lack of platform seating made it an "inhuman structure" which seemed to ignore passengers.

2023 February 8, Greg Morse, “Crossing the border... by Sleeper”, in RAIL, number 976, page 45:

(rail transport) A large railway station in central London (OS grid ref TQ2982).


under one's own steam

A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1.

Now the tug no longer moved under her own steam, nor had it been since coming alongside the wall of the central pier. For all vessels must be towed through the lock basins, and towed not by other craft, but by electric locomotives that run alongside, on top of the concrete walls.

1915, Victor Appleton [pseudonym], “Almost an Accident”, in The Moving Picture Boys at Panama: Or Stirring Adventures along the Grand Canal, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 106:

By Tuesday evening the track had been cleared to the three snowbound engines, and the following day, under their own steam, they were moved away; the business of relighting their fires and raising steam in such conditions is better imagined than described.

1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 178:

(nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle.


traincrew

traincrews (plural)
train crew (alternative)

This has included, for example, getting French railway driving licences for traincrew, as cross acceptance will cease in a no deal scenario.

2019 October, Rail Freight Group, “Consequences of a no deal Brexit”, in Modern Railways, page 20:

All that is happily a thing of the past, following construction of a new combined engineering and traincrew depot to which some 450 frontline and managerial staff have been transferred.

2021 September 22, “National Rail Awards 2021: Exeter Train Care Depot”, in RAIL, number 940, page 51:

Traincrew management has always been a bit of a black art, rather than a science. The present traincrew difficulties that beset the UK rail industry are neither new nor were they unforeseeable.

2022 November 16, Graham Eccles, “The Rest Day Working saga...”, in RAIL, number 970, page 32:

(rail transport) The crew of employees that operate a railway train.


Amtrak

Coined circa 1971; blend of American + track.

Trains are fuller under Amtrak, but it is thought to be largely because there are fewer trains.

1969, School Mathematics Study Group, Studies in mathematics, volumes 19-20, page 8:

Its pitifully small appropriation of $40 million already gone, Amtrak has asked Congress for another $170 million to keep the trains running through mid-1973.

1971, “Give the trains a chance”, in Life, page 42:

The Amtrak brand revitalization approach represents one of the most ambitious, comprehensive, and systematic experiential marketing approaches I have ever seen.

1999, Bernd Schmitt, Experiential marketing, page 39:

(US, rail transport) A US passenger railway (incorporated as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation).


Acela

A shortening of Acela Express, from a marketing coinage based on acceleration and excellence.

(US, rail transport) The service mark of Amtrak's high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor of the United States.


Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor
Northeast megalopolis

(rail transport) Amtrak's rail routes from Washington DC to Boston MA.


horsecar

horsecars (plural)
horse car (alternative)

Nothing could well resemble less a typical English street than […] the extraordinary number of omnibuses, horsecars, and other democratic vehicles, […]

1878, Henry James, An International Episode:

(rail transport) A streetcar or tram drawn by a horse.

(rail transport) A freight car designed for transporting horses.


flag stop

All trains stop at all stations, with the exception of a few "local" stations near Mombasa and an odd flag stop or two usually missed by the mails.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

(rail transport, US) A train station at which trains stop only on request.


baseplate

Baseplates are inserted between rail and sleeper to measure the dynamic loads which are being imposed; […].

1964 July, “Prince Philip opens the new BR Research Laboratories at Derby”, in Modern Railways, page 24:


pointsman

The signalman, as such, was unknown at first. At junctions, or for shunting, the pointsman was responsible both for setting the points and working the appropriate signals, the two being independent. As a result, accidents were comparatively frequent, and the pointsman's job was, at best, a hazardous one.

1955 April, R. H. Warring, “Some Early Railway Signals”, in Railway Magazine, page 231:

At their point of origin, constructing these boxes presented railway companies with an attractive proposition: to remove the need for pointsmen and flagmen operating at several ground-level locations around a railway site by housing one or two men in a signal structure.

2021 October 20, Dr Joseph Brennan, “A key part of our diverse railway heritage”, in RAIL, number 942, page 57:

(rail transport, chiefly British) A man in charge of railroad points (switches).

стрелочник

a man in charge of railroad points or switches


doublestack

(rail transport) Involving intermodal containers stacked two units high.


buffet car

A small ornamental panel displayed the Great Central's slogan, "Each Express is Vestibuled and has a Buffet Car attached." The buffet car is now being successfully exploited again by the L.N.E.R., but it is only last May that this facility returned to its parent line after a long absence.

1934 February, B. K. Cooper, “Some Great Central Reflections”, in Railway Magazine, page 83:

(rail transport) A railway carriage in which food and drink can be bought at a counter, and either taken to another carriage or consumed at the seating provided.


restaurant car

One result of this latest increase is the odd situation that a restaurant car dinner costs 6d. more than a Pullman dinner (boat trains excluded).

1959 March, “Talking of Trains: Fewer meals on wheels?”, in Trains Illustrated, page 121:

TfW's [Transport for Wales] Mk 4s [Mk 4 coaches] are due to operate three pairs of workings between Holyhead and Cardiff, with First Class passengers offered complimentary breakfast, lunch or dinner cooked in the restaurant car.

2019 October, Rhodri Clark, “TfW seeks PRM derogation for Class 37 sets”, in Modern Railways, page 87:

Yes, Great Western Railway has a handful of restaurant cars on Mon-Fri, but on most services you'll be lucky to get a sandwich.

2022 November 30, Barry Doe, “Eurostar award demonstrates value of catering”, in RAIL, number 971, page 71:


platform screen door

platform screen door (plural platform screen doors)

They will feature wider gangways for better wheelchair accessibility, as well as compatibility with platform screen doors - should these ever be introduced in the future.

2023 August 9, “Network News: SPT delighted with testing of new Glasgow Subway trains”, in RAIL, number 989, page 24:

(rail transport) One of a series of doors at a train or subway station, at the edge of a platform, that prevent access beyond the platform when there is no train to be boarded.

laituriovi (hōmu doa)

one of a series of doors at a train or subway station


wreckmaster

(rail transport) Someone in charge of a wreck train


bufferhead

(rail transport) The head of a buffer on a carriage which receives the impact.


lowry

(chiefly US, rail transport) An open boxcar used on railroads.


turnplate

In the Birmingham station the large turnplate in the locomotive engine house is completed, and the necessary rails fitting it for the reception of engines will he laid in a few days.

1839, Peter Lecount, chapter 14, in The History of the Railway Connecting London and Birmingham, Simpkin, Marshall, and Company:

(rail transport) A turntable (rotating platform for turning vehicles).


standage

standage (countable and uncountable, plural standages)

The distribution depot at Liversedge is equipped with parallel sidings for wagon standage.

1964 January, “News and Comment: New block oil developments”, in Modern Railways, page 11:

(rail transport, dated) Space to stand or store railway wagons, such as a siding.

(rail transport, dated) A demurrage charge for wagons not unloaded by the consignee within a reasonable time.

[…] enhancements at Engine Shed Junction (to give 750-metre clear standage between there and Whitehall East Junction) […]

2021 February 10, Philip Haigh, “West Yorkshire plans huge improvements to rail network”, in RAIL, number 924, page 55:

(rail transport) Room for a train to stand if necessary, e.g. between junctions.


mind the gap

Don't tell me to mind the gap / I want my fucking money back!

2005, “London Underground”, performed by Amateur Transplants:

I once interviewed the man who made the first 'Mind the Gap' announcement: the one that reverberated for about thirty years on the Central Line at Bank, on the Bakerloo at Waterloo, and on the northbound Northern Line at Embankment.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 220:

(rail transport) Be careful of the gap between the vehicle and the platform it is near, in boarding or alighting; wide gaps between train and platform are caused by curved tracks and platforms in some stations.

小心空隙

be careful of the gap between vehicle and platform

kérjük, vigyázzanak a be- és kiszállásnál


rerail

en-verb

rerail (third-person singular simple present rerails, present participle rerailing, simple past and past participle rerailed)

rerails (present singular third-person)
rerailing (participle present)
rerailed (participle past)
rerailed (past)
re-rail (alternative)

At around 2130, a single wagon in a freight train derailed on a curve approaching the junction, and then rerailed as it passed over the junction.

2020 September 9, “Network News: NR earthworks maintenance measures "not effective"”, in Rail, page 10:

(rail transport, transitive) To replace on the rails.


narrow gauge

narrow gauges (plural)
narrow gage (alternative)

(rail transport) A track gauge less than standard gauge.

窄軌 /窄轨

a railway gauge that is less than the standard gauge


broad gauge

broad gauges (plural)
broad gage (alternative)

(rail transport) A track gauge that is greater than standard gauge.

寬軌 /宽轨

a railway gauge greater than the standard gauge


QTA

Quetta railway station
w:Quetta railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Quetta railway station in Pakistan.


non-op

From non- + op (“operation; operator; operational; operative; operating”).

af

About 200000 "non-op" workers - clerks, telegraphers, machinists, and others not actually involved in operation of the roads - are not union members.

1951 December 12, “Nonoperating Rail Unions Ask Wage-Contract Support”, in Christian Science Monitor:

(rail transport) Nonoperating; not directly involved in the mechanical operation of trains.


non-op

For example, in the fall of 1973, when we had a rail strike, the government brought in legislation putting the non-ops back to work at an increase of only 30 cents an hour […]

1980, Jack Horner, My Own Brand, Hurtig Publishers, →ISBN:

(rail transport) A nonoperator; a rail worker not directly involved in the mechanical operation of trains.


TNA

Thane railway station
w:Thane railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Thane railway station in India.


TPE

Transpennine Express
w:Transpennine Express

(UK, rail transport) Abbreviation of Transpennine Express.


Thunderbird

The railway sense is derived from the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds, about a secretive high-tech rescue organization, ultimately from thunderbird.

(UK, rail transport) A locomotive stored at a strategic point on the network so as to be available to quickly rescue a failed train.


kinematic envelope

en-noun

kinematic envelope (plural kinematic envelopes)

Travers Morgan Railways recognized this fact in 1990 and have developed a computerized technique to derive the true kinematic enveleope for indivdual rolling stock using basic vehicle parameters.

1992, Institution of Civil Engineers, edited by R.A. Vickers, Cost-effective maintenance of railway track: proceedings of the conference Cost-effective maintenance of railway track organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers and held in London on 25-26 June 1992, →ISBN, Discussion on Papers 3– 5, page 84:

However, in one respect Eurostar did condition the kinematic enveleope of Le Shuttle. […] The smaller Eurostar trains needed a lower step to overcome the height and width differential between the doorway and the walkway. This lower step became a significant element in determining the kinematic enveleope for the Shuttle trains, because of the limited clearance which resulted from its introduction into tunnel design.

1994, Institution of Civil Engineers, edited by Charles Penny, Channel Tunnel transport system: proceedings of the conference organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers and held in London on 4-5 October 1994, published 1996, →ISBN, Discussion on session 3, page 85:

A publication known as “Design Guide BaSS 501” provided a methodology wherby the kinematic enveleope of a vehicle (the space required by a given vehicle, moving at speed) at a specific location could be manually calculated from a number of input parameters.

2006, Simon Iwnicki, Handbook of Railway Vehicle Dynamics, →ISBN, page 184:

(rail transport) The outline of the space occupied by a rail vehicle when in motion, including the effects of tilt, sway, track cant, etc.


possum belly

(rail transport) A toolbox under the caboose.


light railway

Under a Light Railway Order of 1904, the line was extended to Appledore, and opened thence on May 1, 1908, bringing the route length up to a fraction over 7 miles. The whole system was worked under this Order as a light railway, but this caused some friction with the local authorities when, under the authority of the Board of Trade, the gates were removed at five level crossings in May, 1905.

1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 459:

Although the line is officially a light railway, it is of standard gauge, and the traffic, particularly during and since the war years, is anything but light.

1948 September and October, G. E. C. Webb, “By Light Railway to Fawley”, in Railway Magazine, page 307:

(rail transport, UK) A railway built at a lower cost, with a lighter track and to a lower standard than a main-line railway.


commuter rail

Boston and Philadelphia's commuter rails each have thirteen active lines, but Boston's lines reach, on average, over a third again farther out from the central city than their counterparts in Philly.

I took the commuter rail in to work today, since it's quicker and more convenient than driving on the highway at rush hour.

(rail transport) A rail transport system with trains used to transport commuters between two places, typically their homes and works, normally within a metropolitan area and its surrounding environs, and generally distinguished from other rail transport systems (i.e. subways, metros, tramways) by having less frequent service, lacking free transfers between trains and using heavy rolling stock running on a mainline railway


railway carriage

railway carriage (plural railway carriages)

(UK, rail transport) A railroad car (for passengers)


stoneblower

NR also plans to display a stoneblower from its track treatment fleet at the show. [...] They are known as stoneblowers because they use compressed air to 'blow' extra stones under the sleepers where required, to correct the level of the track.

2021 April 21, Stefanie Foster, “Network Rail pledges major contribution to Rail Live 2021”, in RAIL, number 929, page 19:

(rail transport) A machine that automatically lifts and packs the sleepers of a railway with small-grade ballast, which is blown under the sleepers to level the track.


snifting valve

The small mounting behind the chimney of many L.N.E.R. locomotives is the "snifting" valve, or vacuum relief valve, provided to keep the superheater elements cool when the engine is running with steam shut off. When the engine is steaming, these valves, which are carried in small chambers connecting with the superheater header, are kept closed by the pressure of the steam; but as soon as the regulator is shut, the valves open, and admit cold air to the superheater pipes. Apart from this provision, the latter, when empty of steam, would be in danger of burning out by the action of the hot gases surrounding them, especially at the firebox end.

1946 March and April, “The Why and The Wherefore: Snifting Valves”, in Railway Magazine, page 127:

(rail transport) A small valve opening into the atmosphere from the cylinder or condenser of a steam engine, to allow the escape of air when the piston makes a stroke.


runround

So far I had shared driving on station-pilots, runround trips, empty coaches and suburban passenger jobs.

2018, Norman Hill, King's Cross Second Man: A Sixties Diesel Career:

Two sidings – one a runround loop – were laid alongside the down platform at Severn Tunnel Junction station.

2020, P D Rendall, Severn Tunnel Junction:

Laid as a single line, the WHR was provided with a runround loop at Dinas on the site of the former LNWR line, and two platforms were constructed.

2020, Paul Lawton, Lost Lines: Bangor to Afon Wen, page 45:

(rail transport) A route that loops around local rail yards for the transfer of goods (and sometimes used to turn cars around).


accommodation train

accommodation train (plural accommodation trains)

(rail transport) A local train that stops at all or nearly all stops and is used by passengers and freight.


OPRAF

Office of Passenger Rail Franchising
w:Office of Passenger Rail Franchising

(UK, railways, historical) Initialism of Office of Passenger Rail Franchising.


RDC

The virtue of the R.D.C. is that it can be used for short inter-city trips such as this, or for branch services, or even for commuting. It is a pity that its spartan accommodation makes it unsuitable for long runs; the introduction by the C.P.R. of an "improved" service between Medicine Hat and Vancouver (nearly 1,000 miles stopping at almost all stations), using an R.D.C., got the hostile press reception it deserved.

1959 November, J. N. Westwood, “The Railways of Canada”, in Trains Illustrated, page 553:

(rail transport, US, Canada) A Budd Rail Diesel Car, a self-propelled railcar for passengers.


train shed

train sheds (plural)
trainshed (alternative)

As David Leboff points out in London Underground Stations, it is the giant train shed [at Earl's Court] with its iron and glass roof that gives the station its 'main line railway feel'.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 79:

(rail transport) A building, adjacent to a railway station building, covering the tracks and platforms with a roof.

csarnok

a building, adjacent to a railway station, covering the tracks and platforms with a roof


ADM

(rail transport) The station code of Admiralty in Hong Kong.


lineside

lineside signalling

Having completed their task, Fireman Page telephoned from a lineside box to the next signal cabin, briefly reported the incident and said that, as no high explosive had dropped and the track was safe, they proposed proceeding "at caution".

1944 July and August, “Top Link Drivers: XXI—Driver H. Blunt, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 226:

(rail transport) Alongside a railway line.


lineside

My next stop is Oxford, which has also grown with the addition of new platforms to accommodate the Chiltern Railways service to London via Bicester - although, short sightedly, the planned electrification from Paddington was canned. Evidence of the volte-face can be seen along the line at places such as Radley, where mast piles are already sunk or lie discarded at the lineside.

2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, pages 67–68:

(rail transport) The area that borders a railway line.


slam-door

At the time of the termination of the franchise, CSE was also part-way through a programme of introducing new trains to replace 622 of its oldest trains including its 558 slam-door vehicles.

2005, Great Britain, The South Eastern Passenger Rail Franchise, National Audit Office:

And as for slam-door trains, you can bet there will be some teenagers growing up soon who just stand there with the door closed and have no idea why the train has moved off without letting them out...

2009, Benedict le Vay, Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide, page 258:

First Great Western trains are often characterized by this curious air of panic. It's a combination of the company's attempts to repair its dreadful reputation for punctuality, and the 1970s slam-door carriages.

2010, Matthew Engel, Eleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain:

For long-suffering suburban passengers, 1970 represented a milestone as the beginning of the demise of the slam-door multiple unit.

2020 April 8, Howard Johnston, “East-ended? When the ECML was at risk”, in Rail, page 68:

(UK, rail transport) Applied to an older kind of passenger train with heavy doors, opened from the inside by reaching out of the window to the handle on the outside.


LHR

Lahore Junction railway station
w:Lahore Junction railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Lahore Junction railway station in Pakistan.


running gear

(railways) 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.


GCR

Great Central Railway
w:Great Central Railway

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of Great Central Railway.


NRM

NRM (countable and uncountable, plural NRMs)

National Railway Museum
w:National Railway Museum

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of National Railway Museum.


dead in the train

dead in train (alternative)
dead-in-train (alternative)

The electric locomotive was being hauled dead in the train by a diesel over the unpowered diversion route.

(rail transport, of a locomotive) being hauled as part of a train's consist while not providing any motive power.


UIC

(railways) International Union of Railways – from Union Internationale des Chemins de fer


cross-tie

The track consists of relatively light running rails spiked and bolted to cross-ties, with a central steel rack securely bolted to the ties by steel angles.

1954 November, Robert F. Legget, “The Mount Washington Cog Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 790:

(rail transport) A sleeper supporting and connecting the rails, and holding them in place.


Castle

en-proper noun

Castle (countable and uncountable, plural Castles)

en:Castle (disambiguation)
en:Castle (surname)

(UK, rail transport) Castle class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR


train operating company

en-noun

train operating company (plural train operating companies)

The DfT has remained committed to Driver Controlled Operation with the elimination of guards, and expects train operating companies to work in this mode when new vehicles are introduced.

2019 November 6, “Industry Insider: Blame the policymakers”, in Rail, page 76:

(UK, rail transport) A company that operates passenger trains on the mainline railway network in Great Britain under franchise or license from the Government.


freight operating company

freight operating company (plural freight operating companies)

(UK, rail transport) A company that runs freight trains on the national railway network in Great Britain under license from the government.


Abt system

(rail transport) A rail system used in mountainous terrain with multiple cograils.


tankie

From tank + -ie.
Senses 1 and 2 were named for the tanks used by the Soviet Union against uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

Central Intelligence Agency
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

The "tankies", as they were known, shunted empty carriages from Copley Hill sidings onto the buffers at Leeds […]

1987, The Railway Magazine, volume 133, London: IPC Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 382:


boat train

In 1906 the cross-channel service was inaugurated between Fishguard and Rosslare Harbour. For this the Great Southern & Western Railway built two boat trains of corridor stock, with a restaurant car (57½ ft. in length), to run between Rosslare and Cork.

1943 July and August, “Restaurant-Car Services in Ireland”, in Railway Magazine, page 210:

With extra traffic, numerous boat trains to and from Southampton Docks, and working of empty stock, his job, like that of most signalmen, is no sinecure.

1954 September, 'South Western', “Shawford Junction Signalbox”, in Railway Magazine, page 604:

In January BR were attacked by three of the country's major shipping companies for the poor standards of boat train services run from Tilbury and Southampton Docks.

1964 March, “News and Comment: Stormy passage for BR boat trains”, in Modern Railways, page 153:

(UK, Ireland, travel, rail transport) A travel service with a train timed to arrive at a ferry port in time for the onward travel by ferry (or vice versa). Alternatively, a service scheduled to connect with the arrival or departure of an ocean liner.


ashpit

(rail transport) a pit between the rails where a steam locomotive can drop its fire at the end of a day's work, before going "on shed".


common crossing

common crossing (plural common crossings)

The frogs are made of steel rails; for all common crossings a check rail is placed on each side, at least 12 feet in length, and much longer in special cases. The narrowest part of the throat of the frog is 1¾ inches wide.

1888, American Society of Civil Engineers, Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, volume 18, page 239:

From Fig. 22 it will be seen that a common crossing consists of four rails, i.e. one point rail, one splice rail, and two wing rails.

1943, Permanent Way Institution, British Railway Track: Design, Construction and Maintenance, page 52:

During the study, various railways will be investigating different types of common crossing, such as Vario, manganese steel, glued or bloomed common crossings and common crossings with glued or welded fishplates.

1991, International Railway Congress Association, Rail International, volume 22, page 40:

The drawback of these common crossings lies in the difficulty of welding them to the adjacent rails.

1966, International Railway Congress Association, Monthly Bulletin (English edition), volume 43, page 397:

(rail transport) The part of a railway switch or turnout where the running-rails cross; a frog.


red ball

* ("high-profile high-priority" sense) From a routing system on the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 1900s. Fast freight trains which were to receive priority routing were marked with placards depicting a red disc, and were called "red ball" trains.

Perishable freight, carloads of package freight or merchandise, oils, etc., are designated as Red Ball freight.

1905 August 18, “The Frisco System of Handling Time Freight”, in The Railroad Gazette, volume 39, number 7, page 158:

A special red ball card, which is a familiar sight to every employe—the large red ball on the white card—is attached to every car of red ball freight, one on each side, by the agent at the red ball billing station. A special red ball envelope accompanies each car to its destination.

1910 August, Chalmers L. Pancoast, “Red Ball System of Handling Freight”, in Santa Fe Employes' Magazine, volume 4, number 9, page 28:

The crack passenger trains average fifty-four miles an hour over that stretch, the "red ball" freights average twenty-seven, and the way freights eighteen miles an hour.

1939 November, “Keeping the Iron Horse on Time”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 72, number 5, →ISSN, page 157A:

(rail transport) Of or related to priority freight or the trains that carry it.


shoebeam

shoebeams (plural)
shoe beam (alternative)

/ˈʃuː.ɡɪə(ɹ)/

(rail transport) A beam of non-conductive material (usually fibreglass or wood), attached to a train bogey that supports the pickup shoe.


ECML

East Coast Main Line
w:East Coast Main Line

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of East Coast Main Line.


WCML

West Coast Main Line
w:West Coast Main Line

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of West Coast Main Line.


GWR

Great Western Railway
w:Great Western Railway

(UK, rail transport, historical) Initialism of Great Western Railway.

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
w:Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.


SHS

(rail transport) The station code of Sheung Shui in Hong Kong.


Challenger

American Locomotive Company, which introduced the 4-6-6-4 (on Union Pacific) in 1936, constructed more Challengers than any other builder and, in Northern Pacific's Z-8 class, built the heaviest. NP owned 48 4-6-6-4's in three classes.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 102:

(rail transport) a steam locomotive of the 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement.


top and tail

en-verb

top and tail (third-person singular simple present tops and tails or top and tails, present participle topping and tailing or top and tailing, simple past and past participle topped and tailed or top and tailed)

tops and tails (present singular third-person)
top and tails (present singular third-person)
topping and tailing (participle present)
top and tailing (participle present)
topped and tailed (participle past)
topped and tailed (past)
top and tailed (participle past)
top and tailed (past)

All services to Rhymney were top and tailed by locos that had been associated with the line over the years; namely, Classes 33, 37, 47 and 50.

2018, Nicholas Wilcock, Arriva Trains Wales:

Railway Support Services repaired the damaged drawgear to enable the unit to be top-and-tailed to Peel Ports' Alexandra Dock (Liverpool) by Rail Operations Group 57310 and 57312, [...].

2021 October 6, “News in pictures: Final journey for damaged Class 507”, in RAIL, number 941, page 30, photo caption:

(transitive, rail transport, UK) To provide (a train) with a locomotive at each end, for ease of reversal.


top and tail

The Class 50s headed the train from Bristol Temple Meads to Cornwall and back to Bristol, running top and tail on the Cornish branches.

2022 May 5, Peter Green, English Electric Class 50 Diesels: From the Western Region to Preservation, Pen and Sword Transport, →ISBN, page 129:

(rail transport, UK) With a locomotive at each end.


sleeperette

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sleeperette.wav

There is nothing on British Railways quite like the sleeperette accommodation. The bed itself pulls from the wall, and when this is not in use, the reverse side forms the back of a comfortable seat.

1952 April, H. W. Winham, “By "California Zephyr"”, in Railway Magazine, page 269:

(rail transport) A seat in a train compartment that converts into a simple bed.


OTTW

(Canada, rail transport) Abbreviation of Ottawa.


TRTO

(Canada, rail transport) Abbreviation of Toronto.


Muley axle

THE CHAIRMAN: Don't you think that many complaints of hard-riding coaches are owing to the fact that the lateral motion is often so great with cars equipped with the Muley axle?

1899, Pacific Coast Railway Club, Official Proceedings:

(railways) A car axle without collars at the outer ends of the journals.


petticoat pipe

The ordinary blast-nozzle and petticoat pipe properly proportioned for any British locomotive can make it produce 30 d.b.h.p./sq ft of grate continuously with a blast-pipe pressure 4 lb/sq in. above atmospheric pressure.

1962 February, “Letters to the Editor: The Giesel oblong ejector”, in Modern Railways, page 143, letter from W. A. Tuplin:

(rail transport) A short, flaring pipe surrounding the blast nozzle in the smokebox of a locomotive, to equalize the draft.


platform ticket

en-noun

platform ticket (plural platform tickets)

I gave them money for platform tickets and had them take my baggage.

1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 143:

Just 30 years ago the introduction of platform tickets was the subject of lively controversy in Great Britain. They had been used for many years in Continental Europe.

1943 November and December, “Introduction of Platform Tickets”, in Railway Magazine, page 324:

Too many things were said at once, questions about bags and journeys, platform tickets (Wysbraum had lost them), concern for Izzie, all orchestrated with a triumphal note regarding the parcel and the dress.

1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, pages 329–30:

(rail transport, historical) A ticket giving a non-traveller access to a railway station platform.


Burlington

-ɜː(ɹ)lɪŋtən

From Burling + -ton.
The town in Newfoundland derives from a variant of the name Bridlington in Yorkshire and may have been informed by the name of Burlington, Ontario.

One night, October 17, 1944, Burlington coupled 82 cars of Christmas mail for servicemen behind an O5A!

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 40:

w:Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad

(rail transport) Short for Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.


saddletank

saddletanks (plural)
saddle tank (alternative)

The smart little locomotives, mostly 0-6-0 saddletanks, which are always busy shunting traffic amongst the vast dockside warehouses, belong to the Manchester Ship Canal Railway, a line of considerable importance.

1959 October, Norman Jones, “The Manchester Ship Canal Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 488:

(rail transport) A style of tank locomotive in which the water tank sits on top of the boiler like a saddle.


footplateman

Alternative form: footplate man

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

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

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

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

(UK, rail transport) A railway worker who is either a locomotive engineer or a fireman.


stationmistress

At Corris the present G.W.R. operations are in charge of a stationmistress, recalling earlier days at Tan-y-Bwlch on the Festiniog line.

1943 March and April, “Notes and News: On the Corris and Festiniog Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 114:

(rail transport) The woman in charge of a railway station; a female stationmaster.


Midland

From Middle English mydlonde, equivalent to mid- + land.

"... the case of the Midland and the case of the Great Eastern" (his Lordship had been referring to the reasons for special scales). "The case of the Midland we found to be very peculiar, because, unlike most of the other railway companies,..."

1891, Report ... Together with the Proceedings of the [Great British Parliament's Joint Select] Committee [on Railway Rates and Charges], Minutes, Mr. Bidder, in Mr. George Henry Turner is re-called, line 1643, line 15551

(rail transport, historical) A former railway company in England, the Midland Railway.


Mikado

From Mombasa the train is worked by a Mikado, built in 1927 by Robert Stephenson, Darlington, originally intended for shunting, but now used on most passenger trains between Mombasa and Nairobi, where the rails are 80 lb. to the yard, laid in 40 ft. lengths.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

(rail transport) The steam locomotive 2-8-2 wheel arrangement.


water crane

Locomotive water cranes are provided, and a water softening plant has been installed.

1946 May and June, G. A. Sekon, “L.B.S.C.R. West Coast Section—3”, in Railway Magazine, page 149:

(rail transport) A kind of hydrant with a long swinging spout, for filling locomotive tenders, water carts, etc., with water.


combination car

combination car (plural combination cars)

w:Webster's Dictionary#Webster's New International Dictionary 1909

(US, rail transport) A railroad car containing two or more compartments used for different purposes, transporting passengers and freight.


vestibule train

vestibule train (plural vestibule trains)

(historical, railways) A train of passenger cars having the space between the end doors of adjacent cars enclosed, so as to allow the doors to be left open to provide for intercommunication between all the cars.


train mile

(dated, rail transport) A unit used in estimating railway running expenses, etc.: the total number of miles run by all the trains of a railroad, or system of railroads, as within a given time, or for a given expenditure.


block system

Signalling was by the standard 'block' system of the time, which prevents any two trains being on the same track section at once, but this was operated with boldness, with margins shaved. The Metropolitan would prove to have an excellent safety record nonetheless.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 41:

(rail transport) On railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are run by the guidance of electric signals so that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it.


shortline

shortlines (plural)
short line (alternative)

(rail transport, US) An independent railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance.


carloading

From 1940 to 1946, carloadings of grains ranged from about 28 to 35 percent of total shipments of products of agriculture.

1953, United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Production and Marketing Administration, A study of conditions affecting the transportation of grain by railroad:

In 1955, for example, 32 railroads reported 168,150 piggyback carloadings; in 1959 50 roads loaded 415,156 cars; [...]. T.O.F.C. still accounts for little more than 2 per cent of all U.S. carloadings but industry experts expect that percentage to reach between 25 and 50 per cent within the foreseeable future.

1960 November, David Morgan, “"Piggyback"—U.S. success story”, in Trains Illustrated, page 683:

(rail transport) The loading of a freight car.


car body

This was announced in October when details of a £4 million order for car bodies and bogies to complete the Central and Piccadilly Line's rolling stock renewal programmes with 619 more "1959 Stock" cars were made known.

1960 December, “Talking of Trains: Tube trains from Derby”, in Trains Illustrated, page 706:

(rail transport) The body of a rail vehicle called a car.


ruling gradient

ruling gradient (plural ruling gradients)

For the next mile, the line falls, and then rises again, at a gradient of 1 in 50, the ruling gradient of the line.

1950 December, R. C. J. Day and R. K. Kirkland, “The Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 839:

In the next 65 miles the train climbs 2,470ft to the Arizona Divide on a ruling gradient of 1 in 70 and in steam days a fleet of helper engines was kept busy assisting the heavy trains over this section.

1961 July, J. Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 425:

Minor changes to control gear include the provision of automatic wheelslip protection, since these units will be operated on lines with ruling gradients of 1 in 60 or 1 in 80.

1962 December, “The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units”, in Modern Railways, page 385:

(rail transport) The steepest uphill gradient in one direction on a section of railway line, which determines the load that can be pulled by one locomotive over that section, according to the power rating of the locomotive. A typical ruling gradient could be 1:50 (2%). The ruling gradient can differ in the other direction on the same section.


Deltic

Named for the deltic (“Δ-shaped”) arrangement of cylinders in its engines.

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 55 locomotive.


How much rail horsepower does a 125 have? Well I don't have the actual TE curve on me here (it's at home) but I can approximate.

1999 June 16, Hoppy, “Re: HST from Paddington”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

Most of the cheap tickets are valid on both 125s and Turbos - indeed some are ONLY available on 125s (eg First Plus London Day Out).

2003 December 1, Sean Marshall, “Re: Voyager/Meridian differences”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

When I was an apprentice many years ago, the 125 used to come through Markinch station in Fife at 1.27pm every weekday.

2010 January 6, McKevvy, “Re: Could you safely lie between the rails of an HSL?”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

(UK, rail transport) A high-speed train (HST) powered by two British Rail Class 43s, one at each end.


autotrain

(rail transport) A type of push-pull train incorporating a tank engine and passenger coaches fitted with a driver's cab.


railmotor

railmotors (plural)
rail-motor (alternative)
rail motor (alternative)

(UK, Australia, rail transport) A lightweight railcar.


electric multiple unit

electric multiple unit (plural electric multiple units)

(rail transport) A multiple unit train powered by electricity, abbreviated EMU.


resignalling

All layout remodelling and resignalling at Stafford has already been finished; the colour-light signals, with their route-indicators, and the power-operated points are operated from the lever frames of existing signalboxes.

1962 October, “Talking of Trains: The L.M.R. electrification”, in Modern Railways, page 220:

"The cost of resignalling is astronomical, and you'd be talking about hundreds of millions of pounds and a pretty lengthy blockade to rip all this stuff up and remodel the tracks."

2018, Rail, issue 857, July 18-July 31, article on Severn Bridge Junction signal box at Shrewsbury

It is hoped that this will be increased to 18tph [trains per hour], but this is dependent on resignalling.

2019 October, John Glover, “Heathrow rail expansion”, in Modern Railways, page 72:

(British spelling, rail transport) The act of renewing signalling equipment.


signal aspect

(rail transport) The visual appearance of a railway signal


dark territory

dark territory (countable and uncountable, plural dark territories)

(US, rail transport) A section of railroad track not controlled by signals.


NAC

(rail transport) The station code of Nam Cheong in Hong Kong.


observation car

observation car (plural observation cars)

(rail transport) A railway passenger car made so as to facilitate seeing the scenery en route, sometimes with glass sides or with a kind of open balcony at the rear.


corridor train

(rail transport) A train whose coaches are connected so as to form a continuous corridor, into which the compartments open.


detector bar

(railways) A bar, connected with a switch, longer than the distance between any two consecutive wheels of a train, laid inside a rail and operated by the wheels so that the switch cannot be thrown until the entire train has passed the switch.


car mile

(rail transport) A mile travelled by a single railway car, taken as a unit of computation, as in computing the average travel of each car of a system during a given period.


car mileage

car mileage (countable and uncountable, plural car mileages)

That the passenger car mileage for the entire system for the year ending June 30th, 1906, was 44,779,961 miles, of which 6,812593 miles or 15.214 per cent., was in the state of Washington.

1908, Second and Third Annual Reports of the Railroad Commission of Washington to the Governor, page 282:

The total revenue car mileage in bituminous coal service for the period was ascertained for each division in a similar manner, and that in coke service also, except that the empty car mileage in this service was taken as equal to the loaded car mileage as already indicated.

1914 January 31, The Public Service Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Report of Price, Waterhouse & Company upon the cost to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the Philadephia & Reading Railway Company of transporting antracite coal from the respective mining sections in the eastern part of Pennsylvanial to Philadelphia, page 13:

It will be immediately apparent from this table that the extent to which the average weights of coaches and Pullman cars on each road is considered in the total, without, for the moment, questioning the accuracy of such weight for the various individual roads, bears no relation whatever either to the ratio which the car mileage of each particular road bears to the whole of the 19 roads, or even to the ratio which the car mileage tested on each particular road bears to the total mileage tested on the 19 roads.

(rail transport) Car miles collectively.

(rail transport) The amount paid by one railroad for the use of cars of another railroad.


safety chain

(railways) A normally slack chain for preventing excessive movement between a truck and a car body during a slue.


granger railroad

granger railroad (plural granger railroads)

For many granger railroads there was but one choice among the many wheel arrangements available for modern steam power. ….. So in steam what else but the 4-8-4?

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 40:

(rail transport) Synonym of granger road


granger road

The largest single class of 4-8-4's - Rock Island's 65 5000's - was ordered by a granger road as early as 1929.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co, page 40:

(US, rail transport, historical) A railroad used mainly for transporting the produce of farmers or grangers.


block signal

(railways) One of the danger signals or safety signals which guide the movement of trains in a block system, often coupled with a switch so that opening or closing the switch also operates the signal.


pony truck

A bogie has been provided at the front end of the engines in place of the original pony truck; it is identical with that fitted to the class "B1" 4-6-0 locomotives.

1944 September and October, “New Pacific Locomotives for the L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 286:

The outermost non-driven axle forms a pony truck within the bogie frame, with its bearings in a cannon box.

1959 June, “The first "Peak" class 2,300 h.p. diesel-electric locomotive for B.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 296:

(rail transport) Synonym of Bissell truck


tracklayer

(railways) A workman whose work involves putting the track in place.


tracklaying

The renewal of track by cranes and special tracklaying machines which lift out entire 60 ft. lengths of old track and lay in pre-assembled 60 ft. lengths of new, allows the process of renewal to proceed at a considerably faster rate than possible by older methods.

1953 September, “Restoring British Permanent Way to Prewar Standards”, in Railway Magazine, page 587:

Bottom ballasting paved the way for the start of tracklaying in March and this £250,000 contract was scheduled for completion in 48 weeks.

1961 July, K. D. Peel, “Carlisle-Border Freight Centre: 2.- The new automated yard”, in Trains Illustrated, page 400:

(rail transport) The work that involves putting the track in place.


narrow-gauge

On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which was no more than a nameboard in the pinewoods, without even a footpath leading to it, but nevertheless with a solitary passenger stolidly waiting.

1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:

(rail transport) Relating to narrow gauge or having a narrow gauge.

вузкакале́йны

(rail transport) relating to narrow gauge or having a narrow gauge


cautionary block

cautionary block (plural cautionary blocks)

(railways) A block in which two or more trains are permitted to travel, with certain restrictions.


traffic mile

(railways) Any unit of the total obtained by adding the passenger miles and ton miles in a railroad's transportation for a given period.


motorail

(rail transport) A train allowing passengers to take their automobile along with them on their journey.


Hikari

(rail transport) A type of Japanese high-speed passenger train; bullet train.


guard's van

(UK, Ireland, rail transport, historical) The last carriage on a passenger train which was occupied by the guard, consisted of storage space for parcels, bicycles, etc, and sometimes had an emergency brake.


ashpan

They have been fitted with a complete rocking grate and a hopper ashpan so that the ashes can be released without the necessity for a man to go underneath the engine.

1944 September and October, “New Pacific Locomotives for the L.N.E.R.”, in -Railway Magazine, page 286:

A new ashpan has been fitted, however, with four bottom doors for self-emptying, and a rocking grate with twelve rocking sections.

1960 March, “Testing a rebuilt "Merchant Navy" Pacific of the S.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 167:

During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast.

1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:

(rail transport) A large pan below the grate and firebox of a steam locomotive.


blastpipe

blastpipes (plural)
blast-pipe (alternative)
blast pipe (alternative)

From blast (“forcible stream of gas, etc., from an orifice; exhaust steam from an engine”) + pipe.

compound

[W]ith this arrangement the cylinders are cast separately from the saddle, and bolted to the frames on each side with a fabricated stiffener between the frames. This stiffener is carried up to form the saddle for the smokebox, and within it is fitted the exhaust pipes from the cylinders to the blast pipe.

1944 November–December, “Modified G.W.R. ‘Hall’ Class Locomotives”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 350:

By this time the "King" had been fitted with four-row superheater, double blastpipe and chimney, and all the later modifications effected by Swindon in these engines, to which they responded so well with the poorer quality of fuel of their last years.

1963 September, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 186:

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(mechanical engineering, rail transport) A pipe forming part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders up into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the firebox; this speeds up the release of smoke through the chimney.


Mountain

Western Pacific wisely devoted its design energies to the articulateds which produced most of its gross, left the 4-6-0's that came with the road plus a few secondhand Florida East Coast Mountains for its sparse passenger service.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 106:

(rail transport) a steam locomotive of the 4-8-2 wheel arrangement.


brake van

brake vans (plural)
brakevan (alternative)

The provision of sanding-gear on brake vans operating over such lines should be compulsory (this old Highland brake was not so fitted); [...].

1940 November, “Notes and News: A Highland Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 612:

(British, rail transport, dated) A railway vehicle used to brake a (goods) train, usually placed at the end of the train. These were essential before continuous train braking became universal.


private car

In the days before televised press conferences, or debates between Presidential contenders, the railroads carried the politicians to the people. Here, President Truman addresses a crowd from the verandah of his private car, at Sacramento during the 1952 campaign.

1985, Rodger Bradley, Amtrak: The US National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Blandford Press, →ISBN, page 11, photo caption:

(rail transport, US) A railroad passenger car that is either privately owned or used privately, or both.


double track

Between them, and fitted with the necessary turntables, capstans, and other appliances for transferring the small four-wheel carriages and vans from one track to another, were 14 tracks which converged outside the station into double-track through the Maiden Lane Tunnel, 528 yd. in length.

1952 October, C. A. Johns, “One Hundred Years at Kings Cross—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 650:

(rail transport) A section of railway line or tramline consisting of two parallel tracks, one being used in one direction and the other in the opposite direction.


passing loop

From Blackwater there is a more or less level run through gently rolling farmlands and downs to Merstone, with its island platform and passing loop.

1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 243:

In the east of Yorkshire, Mr. A. M. Ross reports the belief of local railwaymen that the N.E.R. plans to single the York-Beverley line, leaving an adequate provision of passing loops, and to operate it by C.T.C. from York; [...].

1959 June, “Talking of Trains: North Eastern report”, in Trains Illustrated, page 293:

Provision of a passing loop at Brading [Isle of Wight] at a cost of £1 million will allow a half-hourly service to replace the current unbalanced 20/40-minute interval service.

2019 October, “Vivarail EMUs for Island Line”, in Modern Railways, page 13:

(rail transport) On a single-track railway or tramway, an extra track provided at a certain place to allow two trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other. It can also allow a faster train to overtake a slower one.

раз’езд

place where two trains can pass each other


crossing loop

Some 60 miles of single line (with long and short crossing loops at suitable intervals) will be continuously track-circuited and colour light-signalled under the control of one signalbox at Llandrindod Wells, enabling 18 existing signalboxes to be closed.

1960 April, “Talking of Trains: C.T.C. for Central Wales”, in Trains Illustrated, page 194:

(rail transport) synonym of passing loop


railbound

(rail transport) confined to running on rails.


Pretendolino

But let's not forget that loco-hauled trains are regularly operated by Arriva in Wales, First Great Western and Northern Rail (Workington to Maryport) and even Tim's beloved Virgin Trains has the Pretendolino set that runs regularly on the WCML, and the Pendolino drag to/from Holyhead.

2010 January 25, Bruce, “Re: EMT Frustration”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

Tonight the Pretendolino is due to work it's regular route, but I saw it working the Birmingham loop of the WCML yesterday, usually when this happens the EUS-PRE service is booked with a 390 or 221, does anybody know which unit is working it tonight?

2010 July 30, Tom, “Pretendolino Workings 30/07/10”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

It is seen here satback at Preston, awaiting departure while working the 5Z41 Kilmarnock–Wembley InterCity depot, dragging the Virgin 'Pretendolino' stock which has been contracted to be moved back south by DRS after maintenance at Hunslet-Barclay.

2015, Ross Taylor, Lancashire Traction, Amberley Publishing Limited, →ISBN:

(rail transport, UK) A British Rail Class 90 train with Mark 3 coaching stock formerly used on services normally operated by Pendolinos.


NGP

Nagpur Junction railway station
w:Nagpur Junction railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Nagpur Junction railway station in India.


trailable

(railways) Of a system of points: arranged so that the train may run through them in a trailing direction, even if it is not set for that route.


ETCS

(railways, transport) Initialism of European Train Control System (a signalling, control and train protection system, especially for high-speed lines.)


axle load

axle loads (plural)
axleload (alternative)

To keep the axle load within a 28-ton maximum, two eight-wheel bogies are employed, all axles of which are motorised.

1963 August, “New 5,000 H.P.-Plus Diesels for U.S. Railroads”, in Modern Railways, page 127:

(transport, rail transport) the total weight, including load carried, transferred by one axle and its wheels to a road or railway surface. This is especially important in relation to what weight road and railway structures can carry, bridges in particular.


mailcatcher

(railways, historical) A device on a train for picking up mailbags while the train is in motion.


LNWR

London and North Western Railway
w:London and North Western Railway

(rail transport, British) Initialism of London and North Western Railway.


crossmember

crossmembers (plural)
cross-member (alternative)

The machines are supported at the pinion end by the gearcase itself and at the other end by cross-members of the bogie frame.

1964 February, “French 155mph electric locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 124:

(rail transport) A beam lying crosswise; a rail.


train time

(rail transport, often plural) The time when a scheduled passenger train departs or arrives according to the timetable.


railwaywoman

Some 100,000 railwaymen have been released to join the fighting forces, 90,000 are training as Home Guards in addition to their railway work, 170,000 members of the railway staffs have been fully trained in A.R.P. duties, and 100,000 railwaywomen are now employed.

1943 March-April, John R. Hind, “The British Railways at War”, in Railway Magazine, page 95:

(rail transport) A woman who works on a railway.

железничарка

woman who works on a railway — see also railwayman


PDL

passenger dedicated line
passenger dedicated line#English

(rail transport) Initialism of passenger dedicated line.


passenger dedicated line

en-noun

passenger dedicated line (plural passenger dedicated lines)

(rail transport) A railroad line which is dedicated for the exclusive use of passenger trains.

客運專線 /客运专线

railroad line dedicated for the exclusive use of passenger trains


GER

GOR (alternative)
GŒR (alternative)
GOER (alternative)

Great Eastern Railway
w:Great Eastern Railway

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of Great Eastern Railway.


metre gauge

The first thing that strikes the stranger is the sharpness of the curves on the metre gauge; it is not unusual for a long train to be travelling in three directions at once, and the engine is frequently in full view of the windows of the ninth or tenth carriage.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

(rail transport) A track gauge of one metre.


cess path

[…] the truck was lifted and the crumped mass freed from wheels and springs and rails and laid on a blanket on the cess-path […]

1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter XII, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 202:

So successful are the spray mixtures applied in early summer each year that along mainlines very little grows on the permanent way or cess path.

1989, Oliver Gilbert, The Ecology of Urban Habitats, London: Chapman & Hall, published 2012, section 8.1:

(rail transport) Path running along the cess next to a railway line.


Clapham Junction

It has never been satisfactorily explained how Clapham Junction came by its name. It is in Mid-Battersea, and is so indicated in Bradshaw.

1951 March, M. D. Greville, “The Nomenclature of Railway Stations”, in Railway Magazine, page 193:

(rail transport) A major rail transport hub in south-west London, England, which has the distinction of being the busiest railway station in Britain.


cattle wagon

The 1950 programme of C.I.E. [in Ireland] provides for building 300 more cattle wagons, 200 covered goods wagons, and 30 more goods brake vans.

1949 November and December, “Notes and News: Rolling Stock Programme, C.I.E.”, in Railway Magazine, page 407:

(rail transport, UK) a covered or uncovered goods wagon (mostly formerly) used for the transportation of live cattle.


ballast wagon

(rail transport, UK) a hopper wagon used to carry ballast (stone) for railway track maintenance purposes.


hopper car

(rail transport, US) A railroad freight car which is used to transport bulk materials in a hopper, the load being usually discharged through one or more hinged doors at the bottom of the car.


hopper wagon

Reshaping [of British Railways] initiated the development of what would become merry-go-round trains, delivering coal non-stop to power stations in newly built hopper wagons.

2023 March 8, Gareth Dennis, “The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 48:

(rail transport, UK) A railway goods wagon which is used to transport bulk materials in a hopper, the load being usually discharged through the bottom of the wagon.


wheelslip

The traction motors are connected in three parallel groups of two in series, and the mid-points of each pair of motors are connected together; the mid-point connection is used in conjunction with relays to form a device which is sensitive to wheelslip, thus leading to an improvement in adhesion.

1960 April, “English Electric diesels for the Sudan Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 218:

Minor changes to control gear include the provision of automatic wheelslip protection, since these units will be operated on lines with ruling gradients of 1 in 60 or 1 in 80. Wheelslip automatically causes the main generator field excitation to be reduced; the load regulator is forced back to minimum excitation and, if operating in one of the two stages of traction motor field divert, causes reversion to full field.

1962 December, “The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units”, in Modern Railways, page 385:

Daily diagramming involves the single-heading of 1400-tonne trains over the northern banks, where wheelslip can be experienced when the rails are wet.

2023 July 26, David Clough, “Technology progression defines Class 93”, in RAIL, number 988, page 54:

(rail transport) A problem in starting or running a locomotive or train, where excess power supplied to the driven wheels causes them to turn against the rail, especially when the rails are slippery, without moving the train forward.


island platform

island platform (plural island platforms)

From Blackwater there is a more or less level run through gently rolling farmlands and downs to Merstone, with its island platform and passing loop.

1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 243:

In the new layout, it is proposed to provide three island platforms with six platform faces varying from 1,075 to 1,290 ft. in length and including bays.

1960 February, “The modernisation of Peterborough”, in Trains Illustrated, page 108:

This time I disembark at Dumbarton Central, a station with two island platforms blessed with yellow brick buildings and iron canopies dating from 1896, and listed Grade A.

2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 77:

(rail transport) A railway platform which has tracks on both sides.


tie plate

tie plates (plural)
tieplate (alternative)

(rail transport) A steel plate used on rail tracks between flanged T rail and the crossties.


dogspike

dogspikes (plural)
dog spike (alternative)

(rail transport) A spike with a slightly altered head shape for easier extraction when the spike has become too loose in the sleeper.


dog spike

The type normally used is the British Standard 75-lb. flat-bottom rail, which is laid on cast-iron bearing plates and on plain tracks is secured by steel dog spikes.

1943 September and October, “Railway Construction and Operation at War Department Depots”, in Railway Magazine, page 262:

(rail transport) Alternative form of dogspike.


TUC

(rail transport) The station code of Tung Chung in Hong Kong.


ERTMS

(railways, transport) Initialism of European Rail Traffic Management System (an initiative backed to greatly enhance safety, increase efficiency of trains and enhance cross-border interoperability of rail transport in Europe.)


UNISIG

(railways, transport) Acronym of Union of Signalling Industry.


SERA

Single European Railway Area
w:Single European Railway Area

(European Union, railways) Acronym of Single European Railway Area.


AWS

Furthermore, the train was equipped with AWS (Automatic Warning System), which would have provided an audible warning that a signal was being approached.

2019 November 6, Paul Stephen, “Cowden: a crash radio could have prevented”, in Rail, page 72:

Automatic Warning System
w:Automatic Warning System

(rail transport, safety) Initialism of Automatic Warning System.


dedoubling

(rail transport) The conversion of a twin-track railway line to single-track.


monomotor

From mono- + motor, probably borrowed from Continental European applications; compare with French monomoteur.

Model of the new 2,800 h.p. diesel-electric C-C with Alsthom monomotor bogies, of which the first is about to be delivered to the V.R.

1962 June, “Beyond the Channel: Finland: The V.R. in their centenary year”, in Modern Railways, page 419, photo caption:

(rail transport, attributive) Having a single traction motor driving the axles on a bogie.


tank car

Coordinate term: tanker truck

I saw livestock kept alive only because water had been brought to them long distances in tank cars.

1936 September 6, Franklin Roosevelt, 1:16 from the start, in Fireside Chat 8: On Farmers and Laborers, Miller Center:

(rail transport) A railroad car or rolling stock designed to transport liquids or gases.


Eurobalise

(railways) A specific kind of balise used in the European Train Control System.


rack railway

(rail transport) A railway that uses a rack and pinion mechanism


cog railway

(rail transport) Synonym of rack railway


air line

(rail transport) A railroad following a very flat, straight route between two endpoints in order to minimize travel times, choosing the shortest, most direct route practical even if longer route that was more advantageous was available.


coaling tower

(rail transport) a tall structure formerly used to supply coal to steam locomotives. Some still survive.


running track

There is a broad-gauge transfer shed, lengths of running track with reconstructed stations, and a bit of Brunel's ill-fated atmospheric railway.

2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Didcot (1932)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 61:

(rail transport) A line on which trains can run, as opposed to a siding.


Northern

Along the UP Trail, America's original transcontinental, mention of the 800's will long recall the capable, long-legged Northerns that were built for standard-weight limiteds but often doubled for diesels on the City streamliners.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 106:

(rail transport) a steam locomotive of the 4-8-4 wheel arrangement.


Wabash

Via French Ouabache, from Miami [Term?] (“it shines white”), referring to the Wabash River (which has a limestone bed), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- (“(be) white”).

(rail transport, historical) The former Wabash Railroad.


Crompton

Cromptons (plural)
Crumpton (alternative)

Named for the installed Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment.

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 33 locomotive.


Lackawanna

/ˌlækəˈwɑnə/

From Lenape Lechauwa-hannek : "the river that forks".

A pioneer 4-8-4 operator, Lackawanna introduced a 77-inch-drivered Pocono (as DL&W dubbed it) in 1927 for passenger service, was soon buying a 70-inch version for Hoboken-Buffalo freight runs, finally achieved a 74-inch dual-purpose machine.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 24:

(rail transport) a short name for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which was merged into the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in 1960.


MSD

Masjid railway station
w:Masjid railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Masjid railway station in India.


broad-gauge

a broad-gauge railroad track

Broad-gauge track consists of both bullhead and flat-bottom rails, carried on a variety of sleepers—treated soft wood, hard wood, steel trough—and cast-iron pots and plates.

1950 February, W. Dendy, “Impressions of the Indian Railways—3”, in Railway Magazine, page 120:

An offensive against Germany would require large forces and offered no certain prospect of success. An attack on Austria promised great victories, the destruction of the whole Austrian army and of the Austro-Hungarian state itself, the reordering of half of Europe—and meanwhile Russia would need only small forces to defend herself against the Germans, inflicting on them the disadvantages of poor roads and Russian broad-gauge lines.

1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 100:

In the Gladstone photo, the sitters look too small for their conveyances, and this is because they were sitting in extra-wide - that is, broad-gauge - wagons of the Great Western, which would run along the Met on broad-gauge tracks (7 foot 2 inches between the rails), together with trains using standard-gauge tracks of 4 foot 8½. In the Met's own language, the line ran on 'the mixed-gauge principle', which makes the arrangement sound almost sensible. That broad gauge did not last long, and all Underground trains today run on the standard gauge.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 33:

(rail transport) Relating to broad gauge or having a broad gauge.

шырокакале́йны

(rail transport) relating to broad gauge or having a broad gauge


NRB

Norbury railway station
w:Norbury railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Norbury railway station in England.


milk train

Familiarised from the early morning goods trains used to transport milk on the British railway system.

On the Western Region, milk trains work up to London from Penzance, Wellington (Som.), Weymouth, Whitland, Carmarthen and Wootton Bassett, each train making several intermediate stops to attach further milk tanks, and in some cases to shed them.

1959 March, R. C. Riley, “Home with the Milk”, in Trains Illustrated, page 154:

(rail transport) A goods train that carried milk, usually in tank wagons.


stopboard

stopboards (plural)
stop board (alternative)

(rail transport) A signboard placed where trains are required to stop.


driving car

The appearance of the new non-driving motor car conforms to that of the converted driving cars, and the car body design closely follows that adopted for London Transport 1938 surface stock; […].

1950 February, “Rolling Stock for London Transport”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:

(rail transport) A control car; a non-engine rail car from which the train may be driven.


BRC

Vadodara Junction railway station
w:Vadodara Junction railway station

(rail transport) The station code of Vadodara Junction railway station in India.


vacuum brake

Compressed air is used for the operation of certain contactors, the sanders, the horn, and the re-fuelling equipment, but vacuum brakes are fitted to the locomotive.

1951 January, “Diesel-Electric Branch-Line Locomotive for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 71:

Consideration of recent pronouncements and predictions shows second thoughts to be practicable, in particular, on the technical decision for which the previous B.T.C. regime was most hotly criticised by experts - the adoption of the vacuum brake as standard for the modernised British Railways. [...] The original decision to retain the vacuum brake was justified largely on grounds of the intolerable operating convenience that would ensue from a changeover.

1963 January, “A second chance on brakes”, in Modern Railways, page 1:

(rail transport) A brake used on trains, working on the principle of keeping up a vacuum in a continuous pipe or pipes extending under the train, and in brake-cylinders connected to them under each vehicle, the air being sucked out by ejectors or pumps on the locomotive.


pay train

(rail transport, now historical, from pay (noun)) A train carrying people’s wages.

Besides, is not the pay-train from Leeds disgorging a clutch of poets every lunch time, to read authentic texts aloud?

1977, Angela Carter, “The Paris of the North”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 216:

Why was there not more talk about destaffing, pay trains, or simplified signalling or single-tracking?

2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 51:

(rail transport, from pay (adjective)) A train for which tickets are bought on board rather than at the station beforehand.


brake block

There are two brake blocks per wheel of the locomotive, and each brake block is actuated by its own cylinder, which obviates rigging (except to the hand parking brake).

1959 March, “The 2,500 h.p. electric locomotives for the Kent Coast electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 124:

Braking is by non-metallic brake blocks throughout, two to each wheel.

1960 February, “The first of London's new Piccadilly Line trains is delivered”, in Trains Illustrated, page 93:

(rail transport) A block fitted to locomotives or rolling stock, which rubs on the steel tyre of the wheel when the brake is applied.


sun kink

(US, rail transport) A buckle in railroad track caused by extremely hot weather, which could cause a train to derail.


trip slip

(US, railways) A strip of paper on which a conductor must punch a hole when a fare is taken.


Beyer-Garratt

From Beyer + Garratt, Beyer referring to the manufacturer Beyer Peacock & Co..

(rail transport) synonym of Garratt, a type of articulated steam locomotive.


high-speed rail

(rail transport) A type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks.

sikkatun ḥadīdiyyatun fāʔiqatu s-surʕati

سِكَّةٌ حَدِيدِيَّةٌ فَائِقَةُ السُّرْعَةِ


control car

(railways) A non-powered railroad car from which the train may be controlled - equipped with a driver's cabin, front lights and other equipment required for a locomotive, located at the end of the train opposite to that of the locomotive. This arrangement allows the train to be safely driven into both directions at full speed without changing the configuration of the train.


trunk line

Coordinate term: mainline

But the states were generally concerned with the location of trunk lines and left it to cities and counties to worry about branch lines.

1987, William H. Rehnquist, The Supreme Court:

(rail transport) A main railway line which usually forms the backbone of a rail network.


danger signal

danger signals (plural)
danger-signal (alternative)

2005, "Practical Railway Engineering" by Clifford F. Bonnett, Imperial College Press →ISBN https://books.google.no/books?id=qcMgBJ1exfIC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=%22at+a+danger+signal%22&source=bl&ots=c4Rl2aryKd&sig=vhZYJY8AkP63OAbCws6GS9882q4&hl=no&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjg2OSL19PZAhXJJMAKHQxdA2sQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=%22at%20a%20danger%20signal%22&f=false
On a train travelling at say 40 miles per hour a driver would have to react quite quickly to bring his train to a halt at a danger signal even if he could see that signal half a mile away.

(rail transport) A signal set at danger and showing a red light or other stop indication, which a train driver must not pass until it changes or until manually cleared past the signal by a dispatcher.


Rock Island

The island near Trinidad is named for its physical characteristics.

(rail transport) Short for the Rock Island Line, or Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.


replacing switch

replacing switch (plural replacing switches)

(railways) A pair of iron plates fitting over the rails, used as a bridge to replace on the track derailed railway stock.


passimeter

Passengers were meant to flow past a passimeter on either side, as when the water of a fast-flowing river meets a rock. They usually had the choice of two queues, which must have been agonising because the one you pick is always the slowest. The queues were slowed down by the turnstiles that frequently operated in conjunction with the ticket booths, but these would give way to automatic ticket gates, [...]

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 213:

(rail transport) A turnstile operated from a ticket booth or by a ticket machine.


lever frame

All layout remodelling and resignalling at Stafford has already been finished; the colour-light signals, with their route-indicators, and the power-operated points are operated from the lever frames of existing signalboxes.

1962 October, “Talking of Trains: The L.M.R. electrification”, in Modern Railways, page 220:

(rail transport) A frame in a signal box in which levers that operate signals and points are mounted.


working timetable

working timetable (plural working timetables)

(rail transport, UK) A set of timetables for the internal use of railway operating staff, which shows all planned train movements in a given area.


work train

(rail transport) A train run for the purpose of maintenance and repair of railway track.


trap points

The single-tank wagon ran away from a siding at Hanson's cement works, heading downhill towards Horrocksford Junction [...]. At Horrocksford Junction the wagon was derailed by a set of trap points, stopping clear of the main line.

2020 April 22, “RAIB investigates Clitheroe runaway”, in Rail, page 23:

(rail transport, UK) A set of facing points at the end of a crossing loop or side track parallel to a mainline which will direct a train into a sand drag if the signal on that line is passed at danger, thus preventing the train running onto the main line.


sand drag

Sand drags are usually laid in as an extension of trap sidings or of lines from catch-points. The rails are boxed in for some distance on either side, and the box is filled with sand, or, preferably, coarse gravel, the intention being, as the name implies, that the sand will act as a drag, and help bring the runaway train or vehicles to rest before they derail and cause serious damage.

1941 August, “The Why and the Wherefore: Sand Drags”, in Railway Magazine, page 382:

The brakes were applied immediately, but the engine ran into a sand drag at approximately 20 m.p.h., plunged down the embankment, and turned over on its side at the bottom.

1952 October, “Notes and News: Derailment near Shawford”, in Railway Magazine, page 710:

Should any driver attempt to pass the Belmont starter signals at danger, he would find his train in the sand drag.

1978, Alan A. Jackson, London's Local Railways, David & Charles, page 154:

(rail transport, UK) A pile of sand or earth at the end of a siding or bay platform, intended to stop trains that overrun or pass through trap points set for a siding.


buffer stop

(rail transport, UK) a device installed at the end of a railway line or siding, which is intended to stop trains and other rail vehicles going any further.


hump yard

New works in hand at and near Basle include a mechanised hump yard at Muttenz for outwards international freight to relieve Basle Wolf yard, which has been handling such traffic, [...].

1963 January, “Beyond the Channel: Switzerland”, in Modern Railways, page 62:

(rail transport) a classification yard or marshalling yard which has a hump over which trains are shunted, the vehicles then running on their own by gravity into various sidings.


classification yard

classification yard (plural classification yards)

(rail transport, US) a railroad yard where incoming freight trains are sorted into various sidings.


towerman

(rail transport, US) a person employed in a railroad switch tower to control and direct the movement of cars and trains.


flat wagon

Two flat wagons carrying tanks were also seen here.

1944 January and February, “Light Railways in Derbyshire”, in Railway Magazine, page 25:

One train ferry wagon, with the inscription "On hire to L.N.E.R.," was carrying British prisoners; and another odd sight was an L.N.E.R. container on a German flat wagon, offering "Door to Door Transport."

1946 March and April, “Notes and News: Train Watching in a P.O.W. Camp”, in Railway Magazine, page 117:

(rail transport, UK) An open railway wagon without sides and roof, or with very low sides.


container flat

(rail transport) a flat wagon designed to carry international shipping containers.


container wagon

container wagon (plural container wagons)

(rail transport, UK) a flat wagon designed to carry international shipping containers.


well car

(rail transport, US) an open low-sided freight car with a lowered body.


track circuit

(rail transport) an electrical circuit in a railway track used for signalling purposes.


CWR

(rail transport) Initialism of continuous welded rail.


axle counter

Twenty-seven axle counters have been installed on the 49-mile East Suffolk Line, to improve level crossing safety and reduce waiting times at user-worked crossings. The Lowestoft-Ipswich line has 28 user-worked crossing/footpath level crossings where the signaller must give permission for people to cross. [...] Signallers use the axle counters to authorise users to cross at the user-worked crossings.

2020 June 17, “Network News: Signalling upgrade in East Suffolk”, in Rail, page 21:

(rail transport) A safety device fitted to railway track which counts the axles in a train as it passes over it. A check is carried out when the train passes the next axle counter to make sure the train is still complete.


flange lubricator

flange lubricator (plural flange lubricators)

(rail transport) a device installed in order to reduce wear to both wheel flanges and the rails in the railway track.


flange greaser

flange lubricator
flange lubricator#English

(rail transport) synonym of flange lubricator


signal gantry

(rail transport) a structure erected over one or more railway tracks, carrying one or more signals. Smaller structures usually have a single support, and larger structures are supported on both sides.


tokenless block

(rail transport) a type of signalling system on a single-track line which dispenses with the need for a train to carry a token (sense 21).


LIRR

Long Island Rail Road
w:en:Long Island Rail Road

(rail transport) abbreviation of Long Island Rail Road.


team track

(rail transport, US) a railroad siding where customers can load and unload freight cars themselves.


road switcher

(rail transport, US) a diesel locomotive that combines the duties of a switcher with those of a locomotive hauling trains from one place to another.


short line

(rail transport, US) Alternative form of shortline.


hood unit

(rail transport, US) a diesel locomotive with a body that is less than full width, apart from the cab.


cab unit

(rail transport, US) a diesel or electric locomotive with a full-width body for its entire length.


private siding

(rail transport) a railway siding owned by a company, also possibly served by their own locomotive, which is connected to and served by a railway, but is not part of the railway's infrastructure.


crossing keeper

crossing keeper (plural crossing keepers)

All these level crossings have hand-operated gates, and are manned by crossing-keepers.

1951 September, B. D. J. Walsh, “The Sudbury and Haverhill Line, Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 619:

(rail transport) A member of railway staff who looks after a level crossing.


bow collector

(rail transport) A form of current collector in the shape of a bow or loop mounted on the roof of a train or tram.