Railroad nicknames

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The initials used to identify railroad and railway lines have often been used for humorous, disparaging or slanderous names. In a related category, portmanteaus, such as Amtrak, have also been lampooned.

Railroad Locale Common abbreviation Nickname(s)
Amtrak United States AMTK Amcrash[1][2][3][4]
Amtrash[2][3][4]
Damntrash
Amlate
AMTRAP
Ashley, Drew and Northern Railway Southern United States AD&N All Day and Night
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Eastern and midwestern United States B&O Beets and Onions
Beefsteak and Onions[2][3]
Black River and Western Railroad Northern New Jersey BRWRR Bland, Rusted and Weedy
BNSF Railway Western United States BNSF Buy Now, Sell Fast[2]
Bye Now, Santa Fe[3]
Big New Santa Fe[3]
Big Nothing So Far
Better Not Shit (on the) Frisco
Big Nasty Santa Fe
Been Nothing Since Frisco[3]
Buy Norfolk Southern First[3]
Better Not Send Freight[2]
Boston and Maine Railroad Northeastern United States B&M Beaten and Mismanaged
Bruised and Mangled
Busted and Mined
Busted and Mangled[3]
Buffalo and South Western Railroad Northeast United States B&SW Brandy and Soda Water[5]
Burlington Northern Railway Northern United States BN Big Nothing[2][3][4]
Canadian National Railway Canada and Midwest United States CN Cooked Noodles
Canned Newbies
Crashes Normally
Crappy Nation
Canadian Pacific Railway Canada CP Can't Play
Chicago and North Western Railway Midwest United States C&NW Cheap and Nothing Wasted[2][3][4]
Can't and Never Will[2][3][4]
Couldn't and Never Would
Chicago Great Western Railroad Midwest United States CGW Great Weedy[2][3][4]
CrabGrass and Weeds
Crabgrass Great Weedy
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Ohio CH&D Charge High and Damn Rough Ride[6]
Copper River and Northwestern Railway Alaska, United States CR&NW Can't Run and Never Will[3]
CSX Transportation Eastern United States CSX Chicken Shit Xpress[2]
Crash Spill Xplode
Cash Strapped Xpress
Can't See Xtras
Cat Shit Xpress
Chessie Sees Xploding Trains
Conrail's Southern Xtension[4]
Chessie's Still Xperimenting[2][4]
Can't Stop Xploding Tankcars
Delaware and Hudson New York, Pennsylvania D&H Delay and Hesitate[2][3][4]
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Hoboken to Buffalo DL&W Delay, Linger and Wait[3][4]
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Western United States DRGW Dirty Rag & Greasy Wipe
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Michigan and Ohio DT&I Darn Trainees & Idiots
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Midwestern United States EJ&E Egypt, Jerusalem & Elsewhere[2][3][4]
Easy Jobs for Everyone[2][3][4]
Erie Lackawanna Railway Eastern United States EL Erie Lack-o-Money[2]
Gateway Western Railway Missouri and Illinois GWWR Great Wobbly Wobbly[4]
The Wobbly
Guilford Rail System Northeastern United States GRS Guilford Fail System[7]
Guilty Rail System
Illinois Central Railroad Midwestern and Southern United States IC Eye-See
Kansas City Southern Railroad Midwestern and Southern United States KCS The Haywire[3][4]
Kansas City Scrap
London and Port Stanley Railway Ontario, Canada L&PS Liver and Pork Steak[2]
Long Island Railroad New York City LIRR The Liar's Route
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Southern United States L&N Long and Narrow[2][3][4]
The Old Reliable[3]
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority New England MBTA Mucho Bad Transit Attitude
Missouri Pacific Railroad Western United States MP The Mop[2][3][4]
MoPac[3]
Montana Rail Link Western United States MRL Monkeys Running Loose[3][4]
Norfolk Southern Railway Eastern United States NS Nazi Southern[2]
New Southern[3][4]
No Sense Railway
Nomore Steam[2][4]
New York, Ontario and Western Railway New England, United States O&W Old and Weary[2][3][4]
the Old Woman[2][3][4]
New York Susquehanna and Western Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York NYS&W Now You Sit and Wait[3][4]
Penn Central Railroad Northeastern United States PC Plucked Clean
Peoria and Pekin Union Railroad Illinois, United States P&PU Pee and Poo
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad Midwestern United States PFW&C Paddy Finnigan's Wife and Children[5]
Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway Quebec, Canada PP&J Push, Pull and Jerk
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Virginia, United States RF&P Rich Folks and Pedigrees[2][3][4]
Run Fast and Push[2][3][4]
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Midwestern and Southern United States SLSF The Frisco[3][5]
Seaboard System Railroad Eastern United States SBD Slowly Breaking Down[3][4]
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Eastern United States SEPTA Society for the Elimination of Public Transit Altogether[2][3][4]
Southern Pacific Railroad Southwest United States SP Sour Pete
Stinky Pete
Espee[3][4]
Suffering Pathetic[2][3][4]
Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad Southwest United States (proposed) SPSF Shouldn't Paint So Fast[2][3][4]
Springfield Terminal Railway Northeastern United States ST Slow Trains
Shitty Trackage
Stupid Trainees
Staten Island Rapid Transit Eastern United States SIRT Shall I Run Today?[4]
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Chattanooga, TN TVRM That Volunteer's Really Mad
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada TH&B Tramps, Hobos & Bums[3][4]
To Hell & Back[3][4]
Union Pacific Railroad Western United States UP Under Powered[3][4]
Unlimited Parking[2][3][4]
Uncle Pete[2][3][4]
Union Pissant
Union Pathetic[2][4]
Ungodly Pleased
Onion Pacific[4]
Western Pacific Railroad Western United States WP (The) Wobbly[2][3][4]
Willing People
Wild Pete
White Pass and Yukon Route Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia WP&YR Wait Patiently, and You'll Ride[2][4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bradley & Gore: Forget the Past; NARAL Test; Bush Scolded as Racist Lout. Media Research Center CyberAlert (2000-07-14). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Other/Nicknames. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao Railroad Nicknames Sorted by Railroad Name. Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Coleman, Christopher D., compiler (2002-03-01). Railroad Nicknames. Webville & Hypertext Railroad. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  5. ^ a b c "Nicknames on the Rail", New York Times, 1890-12-21. Retrieved on 2008-06-05. 
  6. ^ Railroads. Ohio History Central. Ohio Historical Society (2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  7. ^ Railroad Photographs of Guilford Rail System / Springfield Terminal. Massroads.com Transportation Images (2007-05-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.