Glossary of New Zealand railway terms explained

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

B

Blue Rattlers
  • ADK class on the Auckland suburban network
    Blue Streaks
  • Three NZR RM class 88 seater railcars renovated for a fast service between Hamilton and Auckland[1]
    Bumble-Bee
  • Yellow and black Tranz Rail livery. Introduced on DC 4323 in 2001 after the Makihi collision, and officially named 'Hi-Viz'. Originally all locos were to have the Tranz Rail winged logo, but most carried 'TR' block letters on the long hood and several locos did not carry any branding (No Name). Bumble-bee livery was a term promoted by the past editor of NZ Railfan magazine.
    Bobtails
  • A nickname mostly used for the WW class but according to Nelson section crew the WF class was also called such name.
    Bush tramway
  • New Zealand term for an Industrial tramway.

    C

    Carvan
  • Passenger carriage with a guard's compartment at one end, classes AF (wooden body) and AL (steel body). Originally built to relieve a shortage of guard's vans and used on rural branch lines in place of a separate carriage and guard's van, the later AL carvans were used in suburban service only.
    Clockwork Orange
  • 1970s orange and yellow livery used on DX class
    Corn-cob
  • Toll Rail yellow and aquamarine livery[2]
    Cyclops
  • A restored Wellington EMU set including DM 556[3]

    D

    Drewry
  • A NZR RM class 88 seater railcar[4]
    Dora the Explorer

    (frequently referred to as just 'Dora')

    Northern Explorer

    E

    '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.

    F

    Fiat
  • A NZR RM class 88 seater railcar
    Flying Tomato
  • A simplified version of the Fruit Salad livery, with the grey replaced with red. Applied to members of the DC, DF, DSC, and TR class locomotives in the 1980s as a cheaper alternative to the full Fruit Salad livery.
    Fruit Salad
  • NZR red and grey livery with yellow highlights, also known as International Orange
    Foamer
  • A railfan—particularly one whose enthusiasm appears excessive[5]

    G

    Grass Grub
  • A 88 seater railcar converted to carriages for locomotive haulage, from their green livery
    Gull Roost
  • The Onerahi Branch's 323-metre-long bridge across the harbour in Whangarei, because of the large number of gulls that roosted there. The branch closed in 1933 and the bridge no longer exists.

    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 bottle
  • A FS class steam heating van used to warm the carriages of passenger trains following the withdrawal of steam traction in 1968 (North Island) and 1971 (South Island)
    Hot water boy
  • A member of a heritage railway, or a number of heritage railways, who only volunteers on days where engines are in steam. Will go out of their way to try and fire and drive the locomotive, and when successful will boast and be photographed beside the engine.
    Highsider
  • The L, LA, LB, and LC wagons—so called for their high metal (LA, LC) or wooden (L, LB) sides

    I

    International Orange
  • The NZR livery of yellow, orange-red and grey, more popularly known as Fruit Salad

    J

    Jigger
  • A track inspection vehicle

    K

    KB country
  • The section of the Midland Line between Springfield and Arthur's Pass famous for the use of KB class steam locomotives between 1939 and 1968
    Kingston Flyer
  • Heritage passenger train instituted in 1972 using steam locomotives AB 778 and AB 795, originally between Lumsden and Kingston and later truncated to the between Fairlight and Kingston

    L

    Longest xylophone in the world
  • Former road and rail bridge on the now-closed portion of the Ross Branch south of Hokitika—named for the loud rattling its planks made
    Lowsiders
  • The M, MA, MB, MC, and MCC wagons, so called for their low sides. These wagons had lower sides than the L-series 'highsider' wagons, and were often used for loads that could not fit into a highsider or did not warrant the use of one.
    Lokey
  • Locomotive on a bush tramway. Abbreviation of the term 'locomotive', but shortened by bush workers and adopted by railway enthusiasts.

    M

    Matangi
  • FT/FT class electric multiple unit used on the Wellington suburban network, chosen in 2008 in a public competition run by the Greater Wellington Regional Council, and comes from the Māori word matangi, meaning wind or breeze (in reference to Wellington's windy reputation)
    MAXX Blue
  • Livery on Auckland rolling stock operated by Transdev Auckland
    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.[6]

    N

    No Name
  • Several Tranz Rail locomotives received the 'Bumble Bee' paint scheme without any signwriting on the long hood. Mostly applied to members of the DC and DX classes.

    O

    Old reds
  • DM/D class electric multiple units in their traditional red livery[7]
    Over the hill
  • The southern approach to Auckland from the North Island Main Trunk Railway at Westfield via the North Auckland Line and 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[8]
    Pie Cart
  • 1. Ford Model T railcars RM 4 and RM 5
  • 2. Overhead inspection vehicle PW 2
    The Pig
  • DXR class locomotive 8007 and 8022
    The Phoenix
  • The DM 216 set, stored at Hutt Workshops out of service prior to its return to service in late 2008 or early 2009
    Pig Dog
  • DAR 517
    Pimple face
  • New cabs fitted to ten of the DG class locomotives starting with DG 761 (TMS DG 2111) in late 1979 and ending in 1980
    Popsicle
  • 1970s orange and yellow DX class livery
    Pullet
  • M class—named for their lack of pulling power in comparison to other classes

    R

    The racetrack
  • The Main South Line near Rakaia, where steam-hauled passenger express trains attained high speeds
    Red Terror
  • A Leyland Cub car converted to run on rails for inspection use by the Railways Department General Manager Garnet 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.[9]
    Roadsider
  • A Z-class bogie van, so called as they could be unloaded (supposedly) onto the roadside. Often used for parcels traffic, especially by Railfreight, and as luggage vans on express passenger trains, for which they were fitted with x-25330 'Timken' bogies to run at .

    S

    The Sergeant
  • ED electric locomotive 101, so called because of the three stripes on the body[10]
    Super Ganz
  • The refurbished Ganz Mavag EMU EM 1373

    T

    Tin Hare
  • A Wairarapa railcar[11]
    Tonka Toy
  • The preserved TR class locomotive[12]
    Tropical
  • 1970s orange and yellow livery; used on the DX class[13]
    The Twins
  • DBR class Wellington-based locomotives 1200 and 1267, commonly paired for purposes such as banking south of Paekākāriki. Because of this nickname, paired DBRs in Auckland are occasionally referred to as "non-identical twins", depending on their liveries.[14]
    Thoroughbred
  • A NZR JA class locomotive, in reference to their high speed and smooth ride, typical of thoroughbred race horses[15]
    Trams
  • The EO class (1923) used in the Otira Tunnel; a term carried over to the 1967 Toshiba replacements, the EA class locomotive.[16]
    Twinset
  • A NZR RM class 88 seater railcar

    See also

    Further reading

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. David Jones, Where Railcars Roamed: The Railcars Which Have Served New Zealand Railways (Wellington: Wellington Tramway Museum, 1997), 22.
    2. Timotheus Frank, "Canterbury Railscene", accessed 26 May 2008.
    3. Web site: Department of Conservation. Awards Honour Efforts to Protect our Cultural and Natural Heritage. https://web.archive.org/web/20081014175657/http://doc.govt.nz/templates/news.aspx?id=42233. 10 August 2006. 14 October 2008. 2 October 2016.
    4. Book: Millar, Sean. From A to Y Avoiding I: 125 Years of Railway Motive Power Classification in New Zealand. New Zealand. 2001. 35.
    5. Marcus Lush, "The Grand Finale", Off the Rails: A Love Story (New Zealand: Television New Zealand and Jam TV, 2005), DVD.
    6. Book: Mahoney, J. D.. Kings of the Iron Road: Steam Passenger Trains of New Zealand. Palmerston North. Dunmore Press. 1982. 105.
    7. Book: Heath. Stott. Classic Railcars, Electric and Diesel Locomotives. 20.
    8. W. N. Cameron, Rimutaka Incline: Extracts from "A Line of Railway" (Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1992), 83.
    9. Jones, Where Railcars Roamed, 13.
    10. Geoffrey B. Churchman The Story of the Wellington to Johnsonville Railway (Industrial Publishing Ltd, Wellington, 1988)
    11. Jones, Where Railcars Roamed, 14.
    12. Web site: TR 534. Crusader.FoTopic.net.
    13. Tony Hurst, Farewell to Steam: Four Decades of Change on New Zealand Railways (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1995), 81.
    14. New Zealand Railfan, December 2010
    15. Ian Johnstone, Hugh Macdonald, David Sims . 1998 . Total Steam: Great New Zealand Railway Journeys . VHS . . Memory Lane Productions . 155459064 .
    16. Book: Tibbles, Ian . A West Coast Engineman . 2015 . New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society . Wellington . 978-0-908573-90-5 . 190 .

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