Modern Railroading
Operations and Terminology Specific to One Railroad
Railroad Slang
Famous Foamers
Jobs on the Railroad
100
Amtrak's upcoming series of intercity passenger trainsets that's just entered testing on the Northeast Corridor.
What is the Siemens Airo?
100
A Virginian bridge line, which lacked any turning facilities for its engines and had all of its odd-numbered locomotives facing north and even-numbered locomotives facing south.
What was the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad?
100
A term used to refer to a high-priority freight train.
What is a hotshot?
100
A man, well known for being the creator of an anthropomorphic rodent, who was a big railfan and currently has a steam locomotive at a theme park named after him.
Who was Walt Disney?
100
The person in charge of the train crew, who has the final say on any movement and manages the freight or passengers being carried.
What is the conductor?
200
A kind of (usually) passenger train with no locomotive; rather, all the cars are self-propelled.
What is a multiple unit?
200
A railroad, known for operating the highest-elevation rail line, which also operated steam locomotives on narrow-gauge branches until 1980.
What was the Denver and Rio Grande Western?
200
A phrase that means "proceed at full speed" that originates from a 19th-century signalling system.
What is a "Highball"?
200
A singer-songwriter who made several songs about trains, including "Orange Blossom Special" and "Like the 309", was a spokesperson for Lionel trains and had an uncle who was an engineer on the Cotton Belt line.
Who was Johnny Cash?
200
In the days before automatic train brakes, it was his job to apply the hand brakes on the cars manually.
What is a brakeman?
300
Locomotives that can switch from diesel traction to electric traction once they enter electrified territory.
What is a dual-mode/electro-diesel locomotive?
300
The names used by the Southern Pacific to refer to their 4-8-4 type steam locomotives, as opposed to the term "Northern" type used by most other railroads.
What is a "Golden State" or "General Service" type?
300
A nickname for large plates that would be placed on either side of the locomotive's smokebox for deflecting smoke away from the engineer's vision.
What are "Elephant Ears"?
300
A monarch who got a cab ride in one of the Canadian Pacific Railway's "Royal Hudson" type locomotives, and is the reason they are called "Royal".
Who was King George VI?
300
Someone who moves locomotives around servicing facilities like a roundhouse or a backshop.
What is a hostler?
400
A safety system that displays the upcoming signal aspect to the engineer in his cab.
What is Cab Signalling?
400
A policy used by a constituent of the London Midland and Scottish Railway that called for the use of small engines for light, frequent loads.
What was the Midland Railway's Small Engine Policy?
400
A nickname for a kind of locomotive that moves equipment around a roundhouse or backshop.
What is a shop goat?
400
A Crown Metal Products 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive that worked a pop star's personal tourist railroad, which was converted to allow for single-man operations.
What was the Neverland Valley Railroad "Katherine"?
400
The person who oversees the upkeep of the railroad right-of-way.
What is the roadmaster?
500
A tracking system that uses radio frequency identification and trackside scanners to track railcars.
What is Automatic Equipment Identification?
500
The term used by the Great Western Railway for its push-pull passenger services.
What are Autotrains?
500
Early slang for railroad workers responsible for laying and maintaining track.
What are Gandy Dancers?
500
A British singer-songwriter, who's among the best-selling artists of all time, and has his own model railroad depicting New York and Chicago in the 1940s.
Who is Sir Rod Stewart?
500
A senior manager who is in charge of all operations, safety rules, staff, and upkeep within a broad geographic area of a railroad.
What is a Division Superintendent?