Glossary of New Zealand railway terminology

This is a list of jargon commonly used by railfans in New Zealand.

Contents:

Top · 0–9 · 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

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

A

• Articulateds: NZR RM class 88 seater railcars.^[1]

B

• Blue Rattlers: ADK class, used on the Auckland suburban network
• Blue Streaks: three NZR RM class 88 seater railcars renovated for a fast service between Hamilton and Auckland.^[1][2]
• Bumble-Bee: Yellow and black Tranz Rail livery.
• Bobtail: W^W class locomotives before rebuilding.

C

• Clockwork Orange: 1970s orange and yellow livery; used on DX class (also known as "Tropical" or "Popsicle").^[3]
• Concrete Mixer: Auckland SX carriage set.
• Corn-cob: Toll Rail yellow and aquamarine livery.^[4]
• Cyclops: restored Wellington EMU set DM 556.^[5]

D

• Dixies: DX class locomotives.
• Drewrys: NZR RM class 88 seater railcars.^[6]

E

• Elephant-style: A lashup of multiple locomotives with all units facing forward.
• 'En and chicken: N and M class steam locomotives coupled together. 'En, an abbreviation of 'hen', refers to the larger N class locomotive, and chicken refers to its underpowered M class assistant.^[7]

F

• Fiats: NZR RM class 88 seater railcars.^[1]
• Flying Tomato: simpler version of the Fruit Salad livery, with grey replaced with red.
• Fruit Salad: NZR red and grey livery with yellow highlights, also known as International Orange.^[4]
• Foamer: A railfan, particularly one whose enthusiasm appears excessive.^[8]

G

• Grass Grubs: 88 seater railcars that were converted to carriages for locomotive haulage. Their name came from their green livery.^[2]
• Gull Roost: the Onerahi Branch's 323-metre-long bridge across the harbour in Whangarei. Named due to the large number of gulls that roosted there. The branch closed in 1933 and the bridge no longer exists.^[9]

H

• The Hill: the Johnsonville Line out of Wellington, or the steep section of the North Auckland Line between Newmarket and Remuera in Auckland. See Over the hill.
• Hot water bottles: steam heating vans used to warm the carriages of passenger trains.^[3]

I

• International Orange: livery of yellow, orange/red and grey, more popularly known as "Fruit Salad".^[10]

J

• Jigger: a track inspection vehicle.^[11]

K

• K^B country: the section of the Midland Line between Springfield and Arthur's Pass famous for the use of K^B class steam locomotives between 1939 and 1968.^[12][13]

L

• Longest xylophone in the world: former road/rail bridge on the now-closed portion of the Ross Branch south of Hokitika, named for the loud rattling its planks made.^[14]

M

• MAXX Blue: livery on Auckland rolling stock operated on MAXX services by Veolia.
• Midland Red: livery used in the 1920s and 1990s on passenger carriages, DM/D class electric multiple units and some other rolling stock. It was first trialled on the carriages of the Parnassus Express, the predecessor of the Picton Express. Its name derives from the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, from whom the colour was originally sourced.^[15]

N

O

• Old reds: DM/D class electric multiple units in their traditional red livery.^[16]
• Over the hill: the southern approach to Auckland from the North Island Main Trunk Railway at Westfield via the North Auckland Line and Auckland - Newmarket Line. See The Hill.

P

• Pearson's Dream: E 66, nicknamed after its designer, G. A. Pearson, as it did not fulfill his ambitions.^[17]
• The Pig: DXR class locomotive 8007 and 8022.
• Pig Dog: DAR 517.
• Popsicle: 1970s orange and yellow DX class livery (also known as "Clockwork Orange" and "Tropical").
• Pullet: M class, named for their lack of pulling power in comparison to other classes.^[7]

Q

R

• The racetrack: the Main South Line near Rakaia, where steam-hauled passenger express trains attained high speeds.^[18]
• Rat hole or the Hole: the Otira Tunnel, or the Karangahake tunnel on the East Coast Main Trunk Railway's former Waihi route.
• Red Sets: three-car DM/D class units allocated to Tranz Metro Wellington.
• Red Terror: A Leyland Cub car converted to run on rails for inspection use by the Railways Department General Manager Garnet Hercules Mackley in 1933. It was converted for uses associated with electrified lines in 1941, and after spending a few years in the Hutt Valley, it was transferred to Otira and remained there until the Otira Tunnel was de-electrified in 1997. It is now owned by the Ferrymead Railway.^[19]
• Rimutaka railcars: Alternative name for the Wairarapa railcars, derived from the fact they were built to operate on the Rimutaka Incline.

S

• The Sergeant: ED electric locomotive 101, so called because of the three stripes on the body.^[20]
• Skippy: Toll-liveried locomotive. Derived from Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, as Toll is an Australian company.
• Super Ganz: refurbished EM 1373

T

• Tin Hares: Wairarapa railcars.^[21]
• Toasters: NZR EF class, because of their kitchen toaster-like appearance.
• Tonka Toy: preserved TR class locomotive TR 534.
• Tropical: 1970s orange and yellow livery; used on the DX class (also known as "Clockwork Orange" or "Popsicle").^[22]
• The Twins: DBR class Wellington-based locomotives 1200 and 1267, commonly paired for purposes such as banking south of Paekakariki. Because of this nickname, paired DBRs in Auckland are occasionally referred to as "non-identical twins", depending on their liveries.^[23]
• Twinsets: NZR RM class 88 seater railcars.^[1]

U

• Units: electric multiple units.

V

W

• Water bottle: Tank car filled with water, used behind preserved steam locomotives.

X

Y

Z

See also

• Rail terminology
• Passenger rail terminology
• Glossary of United Kingdom railway terminology
• Glossary of North American railway terminology

References