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What are the actual (technical) names of all the parts of a railway line?
I am wondering what all the parts of a railway line are called, including:1. The metal "guard rails" that the wheels of the train run along2. The "planks" in the middle of the two sets of rails3. The "switches" design
About   glossary of north american railroad terminology
This page contains a list of terms, jargon, and slang used to varying degrees by railroad enthusiasts / railfans and railroad employees in the United States and Canada. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. Inclusion of a term in this list does not necessarily imply its universal adoption by all railfans and railroad employees, and there may be significant regional variation in usage.
This list does not include nicknames for railroad companies; those can be found at ''Railroad nicknames''.
A
  • Nickname for the DH643 diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO). Also a nickname for railfans who are ''addicted'' to ALCO locomotives.
  • ALCO RSD-15 locomotive, so named for its long, low nose.
  • An Amfleet passenger car; the car shape is a rounded stainless steel tube.
  • A small shelter that serves as a train station for Amtrak trains in a small town. There are normally no manned services offered at these small stations.
  • AAR: The Association of American Railroads.
    • B
  • B-Boat: GE B23-7, B30-7 or B36-7 locomotive. By analogy with U-boat, since with the Dash 7 line, the ''B'' or ''C'' moved to the beginning of the designation.
  • B unit: A booster locomotive commonly with no cab.
  • Baby Boat: GE U18B locomotive.
  • Big G, the: Nickname for Guilford Rail System, in reference to the large ''G'' emblem on their locomotives and boxcars. Also refers to Great Northern Railway.
  • Big hook: a railroad crane.
  • Bright Future: The middle CSX tricolor paint scheme (also known as Yellow Nose 2 or YN2).
  • A ''caboose'' on the Boston and Maine Railroad.
  • A railroad police officer.
  • Can Opener: Conrail's herald.
  • Norfolk Southern's D9-40CW locomotives.
  • Coffin car: Nickname for a passenger car with an engineer's cab. Also known as a cab car or control car. So named due to the alleged additional danger posed to passengers in such cars (which are pushed by the heavier trailing locomotive) in frontal collisions.
  • Covered wagon: an EMD E-series or F-series locomotive.
  • a switcher locomotive, when paired with a Calf.
  • A caboose.
    • D
  • Dark Future: The current CSX paint scheme, also known as Yellow Nose 3 (YN3) or Gold Nose 1 (GN1).
  • Darth Vader: Term used to describe the lens hood on a modern style of railroad signals, due to its visual resemblance to the helmet of Darth Vader from Star Wars.
  • Term used to describe the logo of the Illinois Central, which has the letter ''i'' inside a circle — based on a resemblance to the Death Star battle station in Star Wars.
  • Nickname given to small locomotives, particularly one running in industrial service and/or on narrow gauge tracks. Also, a small old-fashioned trolley.
  • Draper-Taper: Nickname for certain Canadian locomotives that feature a full-width carbody with improved rear visibility, designed by William L. Draper, an employee of Canadian National Railway.
  • Dynamics/dynamic braking: Regenerative braking in which the motors on the locomotive wheels generate electric power off of the momentum of the moving train, and this power is burned off through resistor grids as heat.
    • E
  • Elephant-style: A lashup of multiple locomotives with all units facing forward; resembling the nose-to-tail train of elephants in a circus parade.
    • F
  • Fallen flag: a railroad company that no longer operates, or has been merged with (or acquired by) another railroad company.
  • the Federal Employers Liability Act, a U.S. federal law that protects and compensates railroaders injured on the job.
  • Refers to the EMD SD45, with its dynamic brake blisters and radiators that distinctively flare from the top of the unit. Also Flare 45. Both forms distinguish the SD45 from the SD45-2 and SD45T-2, which lack flared radiators.
  • Wings/Flags/Flares (W/F/F): Characteristics used to designate Union Pacific's paint scheme and engine type. Wings = ''Wing'' Decal on the engine nose, Flags = ''American Flag'' Decal on engine body, Flares = ''Flared Radiators'' of certain SD70Ms on the long hood. Some UP engines have one or more of these characteristics.
  • an acronym for ''fucking rail nut'', a derogatory term used by some railroaders to describe railfans.
    • G
  • Gandy dancer: Nickname for a track maintenance worker.
  • Nickname for EMD's GP series of locomotives.
  • A MetroNorth or Amtrak GE P32AC-DM locomotive.
  • A locomotive that uses multiple high-speed diesel engines and generators (generator sets), rather than a single medium-speed diesel engine and a single generator. Sometimes confused with ''Green Goat'' locomotives; the only similarities between the two types are their outward appearance and that both are designed to reduce air pollution and fuel consumption.
  • Nickname for GE Evolution Series locomotives, in reference to the GEVO-12 engine used in those units.
  • Gold Nose 1, the current CSX paint scheme. Another term for YN3.
  • a locomotive used in yard switching service.
  • locomotive engineer.
  • Mating Worms: The intertwined P and C letters of the Penn Central logo.
  • The name given to the tuscan red and gold paint scheme applied to Boston & Maine diesel-electric locomotives from the 1950-early-1960s era. The road's herald bearing the famous Revolutionary-inspired Minute Man statue.
  • The locomotive that is paired with a slug.
  • BNSF Railway's current bright orange paint scheme,
  • Stealth Unit: The early CSX grey & blue paint scheme. So named for their virtual invisibility in poor light. Also used to describe NS D9-40CWs in light gray primer paint, and a scheme used on some Metro-North locomotives.
  • Turbo Lag: Characteristic of Alco and GE diesel locomotives, where the turbocharger lags behind the throttle-up of the engine, shooting dense clouds of black smoke and/or flames from the exhaust stack when initially throttling up.
    • U
  • U-Boat: GE Universal Series locomotive.
    • V
  • Vomit Bonnet: BNSF's first attempt at a paint scheme.
    • W
  • Santa Fe's red and silver paint scheme (less common since the BNSF Railway merger in 1995). High visibility paint scheme used on various Burlington Northern locomotives, primarily SD60Ms, SD40-2s, GP50s, GP39 rebuilds, and GP28 rebuilds.
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    Glossary of North American railroad terminology - Wikipedia ...
    Glossary of North American railroad terminology. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ... This list does not include nicknames for railroad companies; those can be found at Railroad nicknames. ...
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    GE Capital Rail Services help center glossary ... The North American Container System (NACS) is an Intermodal equipment program designed to facilitate the free interchange of domestic 48' and 53' containers between member railroads. ...
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    Glossary of rail terminology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    For terminology specific to Australia, see Glossary of Australian ... For terminology specific to the United Kingdom, see Glossary of UK railway terminology. For terminology specific to North America, see Glossary of North American ...
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    For terminology specific to the United Kingdom, see Glossary of UK railway terminology. For terminology specific to New Zealand, see Glossary of New Zealand
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    North American railway glossary
    Free glossaries at TranslationDirectory.com. North American railway glossary ... This list does not include nicknames for railroad companies; those can be found at Railroad nicknames. For terminology specific to the types of lines ...
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    Glossary of North American railroad terminology. This page contains a list of terms, jargon, and slang used to varying degrees by railroad enthusiasts
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    Rail glossary
    For terminology specific to Australia, see Glossary of Australian ... For terminology specific to the United Kingdom, see Glossary of UK railway terminology. For terminology specific to North America, see Glossary of North American ...
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    Top questions and answers about Railroad-Terminology. Find 3 questions and answers about Railroad-Terminology at Ask.com Read more. ... This page lists the unsourced entries from Glossary of North American ...
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