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Trainz Wordz - A Trainz Glossary

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Introduction

Reliable information regarding the multitude of mergers and acquisitions of US railroads is not easily obtained. Sources often tend to be vague or contradictory. As a result, some of the relevant information presented here may be incorrect or incomplete.

Please do not be put off Trainz, or railway simulation in general, by the length and complexity of this glossary. I have attempted to be fairly comprehensive here and this web page is intended to be used mainly as a reference. You most definitely do not need to know or remember all these terms in order to use and enjoy the program. Many terms refer to advanced features of Trainz which you can explore, if you wish, after becoming familiar with the basics.

A prefix at the start of the definition of each term indicates its context, as follows:

• COMPUTERS indicates a general computer-related term. In this glossary, I concentrate on general computer-related terms that you are likely to encounter in Trainz. My full PC and Internet glossary is available here.

• MODEL RAILWAYS indicates a term used in the worlds of model railways.

• RAILWAY SIMULATORS indicates a term used in computer railway simulation but not specifically in Trainz. My reviews of simulation programs of all types are available here.

• RAILWAYS indicates a term used in real railways. Many of these terms are also used in Trainz with the same meanings.

• TRAINZ indicates a term used exclusively in any version of Auran's Trainz Railway Simulator program, or in very close relation to Trainz (such as a third-party utility for Trainz).

This glossary is mainly oriented towards Auran's Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 (TRS2004), since that is the version of Trainz that I own. However, there is also some mention of the other older versions of Trainz. Because I live in Britain, I use British spelling and in some cases there is a bias towards British railway terminology. I should also mention that I came to Trainz with some knowledge of computers but virtually no knowledge of railways.

Some of the railway companies listed here may be defunct. In many cases, the tracks built by a defunct company still exist and are still in use. Some sections of track, especially in the USA, are still commonly referred to by the name of the railroad company which originally constructed them.

A few of the companies listed here are fictional, or the name of a railway, model railway, or railway simulation computer program-related company or web site but not an actual railway company.

The lists of railroads which use various types of locomotives are almost certainly not complete and very largely historical. Some of these entries may be fictitious combinations of real locomotives and real railroads, created by railway simulator computer program content creators.

My thanks to everyone who provided information which has eventually found its way into entries in this glossary. My apologies for not acknowledging these sources but in most cases I deleted the source material before deciding to create this glossary, and therefore no longer have any record of the names. Also, my apologies if I have misinterpreted any of this information.

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

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A

---

oo OOO o (etc)

The lefthand set of lower case letter "o"'s (oo in this example) signify the number of unpowered axles in front of the powered wheels. The upper case letter "O"'s (OOO in this example) signify the number of powered or driven axles. The righthand set of letter "o"'s (just one in this example) signify the number of unpowered axles behind the powered wheels. If a locomotive has no unpowered axles either in front or behind the powered wheels then the appropriate lower case letters are simply omitted. This example (oo OOO o) is equivalent to 4-6-2.

If there are two sets of upper case letter "O"'s, for example oo OOOO OOOO oo, then the locomotive has two sets of driven wheels. This example is equivalent to 4-8-8-4.

The unpowered wheels may or may not be on separate bogeys. Wheels on tenders are not included.

I think that sometimes the spaces between the groups of letters are omitted (ooOOOo) or replaced by dashes (oo-OOO-o).

I do not know if this system is used outside the USA, or whether it has ever been applied to any other types of locomotives.

See also "UIC Classification" and "Whyte Notation".

A Unit

A1 Class

A4 Class

ABmz

ABS

ACE

1. RAILWAYS. Altamont Commuter Express, California, USA. Altamont is to the east of San Francisco.

2. COMPUTERS. File extension. Compressed archive file. A rarely used alternative to the ZIP file format (see that entry). The contents of ACE files can be extracted by using the WinAce program which can be obtained from http://www.winace.com (external link verified Aug-04), or by using the "Unzip Them All" utility which is available via http://www.bykeyword.com or downloaded directly from http://www.herve-thouzard.com/unzinst.exe (both external links verified Jun-04).

Acela

Activity

Advanced Passenger Train (APT)

AFC

AG

Agent

AI

AJS Superscript

AK Cars

AKI Utility

Alco

Alco 636

Alco RS3

Algoma Central Railway

American

Amtrak

Amz

AN

Anglia Railways

Animated Junction

Approach Control

APT

ARG

ARHS

AHB

Argus

ARJ

ARL

ARM

ARN

Arriva Trains Northern

Arriva Trains Wales

ARS

ARTC

Asset Seeker Manager (ASM)

ASM

Aspect

Asset

At Grade Crossing

Atlantic

ATO

ATOC

ATP

ATS

ATSF

Attachment

Auran

Auran Jet

Microsoft Jet is a completely unrelated item of software associated with the Microsoft Access database system.

Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)

Auto Carrier

Auto Route

Auto Train

Automatic Block System, or Automatic Block Signal (ABS)

Automatic Route

Automatic Routesetting System (ARS)

Automatic Train Protection (ATP)

Automatic Train Stop (ATS)

Automatic Warning System (AWS)

1. RAILWAYS. A primitive safety system introduced in Britain in the 1950's, now being superseded by TPWS (Train Protection And Warning System).

2. RAILWAYS. This appears to be an automatic train control system used in Japan. I'm not absolutely sure that this is what the initials stand for. It seems highly unlikely that this is the same as the primitive AWS system used in Britain.

AutoPlay

Autorack

Autoveyor

AWS

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

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B

---

B & M

B & O

B Unit

Back

Example One:

                ------Left-------
               /
------Back------------Right------

Example Two:

------Back------------Left-------
               \
                ------Right------

Example Three:

                ------Left-------
               /
------Back------------Forward----
               \
                ------Right------

Backdrops

Bahn

1. RAILWAYS. The German word for railway.

2. RAILWAY SIMULATORS. A German freeware (or shareware?) tram simulation program, which can also be used to simulate railway trains. Also sometimes called JS Bahn. I initially thought that JS were the initials of the program's creator, but in fact it was written by Jan Bochmann. The name of the program is often spelt entirely in upper case. http://www.jbss.de (external link verified Jun-04). Not connected in any way with Auran or Trainz.

Bail

Baldwin

Balise

1. RAILWAYS. As depicted in Trainz, this appears to be a count-down marker to a signal (or perhaps more generally to any significant trackside feature such as a signal, a speed limit sign or a junction). A vertical rectangle with diagonal stripes, very similar in appearance and meaning to a count-down marker for a motorway exit (freeway off-ramp).

2. RAILWAYS. However, I'm informed that in Sweden a balise is a device used to send information to a train about speed limits and signal aspects.

Banker

BART

Bay Platform

BCK

Beam, Beamway

Behavior

Berkshire

Beyer-Garratt

Bezier Curves

BFK

BG

1. RAILWAYS. The British Rail passenger carriage designation code for a brake gangway coach. This code might only be used with MK1 coaches.

2. RAILWAYS. The passenger carriage designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of normal carriage.

BI

Big Boy

Block

BMP

BMT

Bmz

BN

BNSF

From the "Railroads" article in Encarta: "In 1970, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Burlington merged into Burlington Northern (BN); later, BN absorbed the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad."

However, according to a contributor to the Auran discussion forum: "The name BNSF is the result of the merger of the ATSF and the BN. The Frisco doesn't enter in to it as far as the name change, they were just another railroad bought up by BN over time." This wouldn't be the first time that mistakes have been found in Encarta.

According to another source, the BNSF was formed as a merger of the Burlington Northern Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1995.

Bo-Bo

See also "Co-Co".

BOG

Bogey (or Bogie)

1. RAILWAYS. A rigid framework in which one or more axles are mounted. A bogey is connected via an articulated joint to the underside of a rolling stock item, which it supports. Most bogeys have one, two or three axles, each of which has a pair of wheels, one at each end. Bogeys can turn relative to the main body of the rolling stock item, thereby allowing lengthy vehicles to negotiate curved track. Very short goods wagons used in some countries do not have bogeys, but almost all locomotives, passenger carriages, and freight wagons of any length do. The problem of transferring power from the main body of a locomotive to an articulated bogey is an interesting aspect of locomotive design. The word "truck" is sometimes used in the USA for a bogey.

2. TRAINZ. A rolling stock part. More than one item of rolling stock can use the same type of bogey.

Boxcar

BR

1. RAILWAYS. British Railways, later renamed British Rail. The old national and nationalised British railway system. Defunct.

2. RAILWAYS. A prefix of some classes of diesel locomotives used by DB (Deutsche Bundesbahn).

Brakeman

Brakevan

BRB

1. RAILWAYS. British Railways Board.

2. RAILWAYS. The British Rail passenger carriage designation code for a restaurant coach (dining car). This might be a misprint for RBR.

BREL

Brew Crew

Bridge

BRJ

1. RAILWAYS. The passenger carriage designation code used by the Australian Indian Pacific (IP) service for a twinnette sleeper car.

2. RAILWAYS. The passenger carriage designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of sleeping car.

Broad Gauge

Built-in

Bulkhead

Bumper

Button-Bar

BVE

BWL

By

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

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C

---

c

C2C

C30-7

Cab Signalling System (CSS)

CAB

1. TRAINZ. An abbreviation of "cabin". The more realistic of the two train driving modes. The other mode is DCC. In CAB mode the user has access to all of the important controls of the corresponding real locomotive, and the physics algorithms are made as realistic as possible. CAB mode is much more difficult than DCC mode, especially with steam engines, but once mastered I imagine it is also much more satisfying.

2. COMPUTERS. An abbreviation of "cabinet". A type of file, very similar in concept to a zip compressed archive file. Used extensively by Microsoft for software distribution.

Cable Car

1. A device which allows passengers to ascend or descend a steep mountainside. Enclosed cars are suspended by means of pulleys from cables, and also hauled by cables. In most cases the cables are supported along the route by running over pulleys at the tops of towers. This is by far the most common meaning of the term. Some cable car devices are available for Trainz, but I have not yet properly investigated them.

2. RAILWAYS. A streetcar system in which the vehicles run on rails and are driven by gripping a continuously moving cable located just below the track. The most famous example of such a system, and possibly the only one still operative, is in San Francisco, California, USA. A number of streetcars and trams are available for Trainz, but so far I haven't found any which resemble those used on the San Francisco cable car system. Nor have I been able to find a fully completed layout of the San Francisco cable car system for Trainz.

Caboose

CalTrain

Cant

1. RAILWAYS. When track is banked, for example around a bend which is normally taken at speed, the angle of the line joining the same points on each rail with the horizontal (taken at a cross section of the track). Called superelevation in Britain.

2. RAILWAYS. When track is banked, for example around a bend which is normally taken at speed, the angle of the line through the centre of a rail with the vertical (taken at a cross section of the rail).

Car

Carriage

Catchpoints (or Catch Points)

Catenary

CB & Q

CCG

CD

CCP

CDF

CDP Batcher

CDP Browser

Central Trains

Centralised Traffic Control (CTC)

Centre-Beam Bulkhead

CFF

CFG

Challenger

Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL)

Chiltern Railways

Chimney

CityRail

CK

CL

Class Numbers

In Britain, under the TOPS system (see "Total Operations Processing System") as used by British Rail from 1972, locomotives were assigned class numbers in ranges as follows:

• 01-69 Diesel locomotives
• 70-79 DC electric locomotives
• 80-96 AC electric locomotives 80 to 96
• 97 Departmental locomotives (not in revenue-earning use)
• 98 Steam locomotives
• 99 Ships owned by British Rail (ferries, etc)
• 100-199 Diesel multiple units (DMU's) with mechanical or hydraulic transmission
• 200-299 Diesel multiple units (DMU's) with electric transmission
• 300-399 Overhead AC Electric Multiple Units (EMU's)
• 400-499 Southern Region 600-volt DC third rail EMU's
• 500-599 Other DC electric units
• 600-699 Not yet used
• 900-999 Departmental multiple units, mostly converted from former passenger units

The following Wikipedia articles are useful (both external links verified Jan-05):

• British Locomotive And Multiple Unit Numbering And Classification"
• List Of British Rail Classes

Class 08

Class 09

Class 20

Class 25

Class 31

Class 33

Class 37

Class 43

Classes 44, 45 and 46

Class 47

Class 50

Class 52

Class 55

Class 56

Class 58

Class 59

Class 60

Class 66

Class 70

Class 71

Class 73

Class 74

Class 86

Class 87

Class 89

Class 90

Class 91

Class 92

Class 101

Class 159

Class 201

Class 202

Class 205

Class 207

Class 218

Class 313

Class 319

Class 325

Class 332

Class 365

Class 373

Class 375

Class 401

Class 404

Class 405

Class 410

Class 411

Class 412

Class 413

Class 414

Class 415

Class 416

Class 418

Class 419

Class 420

Class 421

Class 422

Class 423

Class 424

Class 430

Class 431

Class 438

Class 442

Class 455

Class 456

Class 458

Class 460

Class 465

Class 466

Class 488

Class 489

Class 508

Class 930

Class 931

Class 932

Class I Railroad

Climax

Clinchfield Railroad (CRR)

CM

CMP

CN or CN Rail

CNJ

Co-Co

See also "Bo-Bo".

Coach

COFC

Cog Railway

Colour Position Light (CPL)

ComEng

Command

Commonwealth Engineering (ComEng)

Commodity

Commodity Picker

Conductor

1. RAILWAYS. The US term for a railway employee who travels on a passenger train to sell tickets, check tickets, indicate to the driver when it is clear to start moving after a stop, control the behaviour of passengers, etc. Called a guard in the UK.

2. RAILWAYS. Anything which conducts electricity, but especially a third rail which supplies electricity at a high voltage.

config.txt

Connex South Eastern

Conrail

From the "Railroads" article in Encarta 95: "In 1968, the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads combined to form Penn Central, to which was later added the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroads. Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970. In 1976, it and other failed railroads in the Northeast (including the Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, and Reading) were merged by an act of Congress to form the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail)."

According to another source: "Conrail was jointly purchased by CSX and Norfolk Southern in 2001."

Another source says that Norfolk Southern and CSX agreed to acquire Conrail in 1997, government approval was passed in 1998 and the acquisition actually took place in 2001. As a result, Conrail was restructured into a switching and terminal railroad.

Consist

Consolidation

Content Creator Plus (CCP)

Content Creators Guide (CCG)

Content Dispatcher

Content Manager (CM)

Content Manager Plus (CMP)

Copper Canyon

Cotton Belt

CountryLink (CL)

CP

1. RAILWAYS. Canadian Pacific (CP Rail).

2. RAILWAYS. Central Pacific (USA). Absorbed in the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1887, which in turn was absorbed into the Union Pacific Railroad in 1996.

3. RAILWAYS. Control Point? (Some territories in the Train Dispatcher simulation program have numbered "CP" positions.)

CPL

1. RAILWAYS. See "Colour Position Light".

2. COMPUTERS. File extension. A control panel applet (mini-program).

Crossing Loop

Crossover

I have also seen crossovers referred to as X-crossings but that term might not be general usage and there is the obvious potential confusion with places where one railway track crosses another at an angle.

CRR

Crummy or Crummie

CSS

CSX

From the Railroads article in Encarta: "The Chesapeake And Ohio, Baltimore And Ohio, and Western Maryland railroads became affiliated into the Chessie System. In 1981 Chessie merged with the Family Lines - a combination of the Seaboard Coast Line, Louisville And Nashville, and Clinchfield - to form CSX Corporation."

According to another source, the Seaboard System was renamed the CSX Transportation System in 1987.

CTC

CTRL

CTSR

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (CTSR)

Custom, or Custom Content

Cut

Cutoff

1. RAILWAYS. One of the two main controls of a steam locomotive, the other being the regulator. In simple terms the cutoff is roughly analogous to the gear level of a car and the regulator is analogous to the accelerator.

2. RAILWAYS. A shorter route, constructed so as to replace an older inferior route which is longer, steeper, or has more tight bends, etc.

CWR

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

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D

---

D & C

D & RG

D & RGW

D & SNGRR

D40-2

Dark Territory

DB

DBSO

DC

DCC

DD35A and DD35B

DD40X

DDA40X

DE (or DED)

Decapod

Deltic

DEM

DEMU

Dependency

• Most rolling stock requires bogies.

• Most powered rolling stock requires engine specifications, engine sounds and horn sounds.

• Re-skinned rolling stock usually requires the original asset.

• Layouts usually require a large number of assets of a wide variety of types, normally including ground textures, track, signals, speedboards (speed limit signs), buildings, industries, roads, and so on.

• Driver Sessions usually require a layout and one or more items of rolling stock.

• Scenarios usually require a layout, one or more items of rolling stock, and a script.

Depot

Derail

Desiro

Detonator

DF

1. RAILWAYS. The passenger carriage designation code used by the Australian Indian Pacific (IP) service for a dining car.

2. The passenger carriage designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of dining car.

DHR

Diamond

Diesel-Electric

Diesel-Hydraulic

Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

Direct Traffic Control (DTC)

Disc Headcode

Dispatcher

Dispatcher Code

Distant

Ditch Lights

Division

DLR

DLS

DMU

Donkey, Donkey Engine

Down

Download Helper (DLH)

I've never had any problems with Download Helper, but some users report serious difficulties and prefer to use alternative programs, such as Trainz Agent, Trainz Downloader Pro, and Trainz Objectz (see those entries for details). All these programs download material from the same source (DLS); only their method of doing so varies.

Download Station (DLS, or very occasionally DS)

DR

Drain, The

Driver

1. TRAINZ. That part of TRS2004 and TRS2006 in which Driver sessions can be run. See "Driver Sessions".

2. COMPUTERS. Software components which interface the Windows operating system (and thereby programs) with physical devices such as display adaptors (video boards), sound boards and sound chips, etc. If you are experiencing problems with such a device, the recommended first course of action is to download the latest version of the driver from the device's manufacturer. Be careful to select the driver for your exact device name and model number, and your exact operating system version.

Driver Command

A number of standard built-in driver commands are available by default when a Driver Session is created. The availability of additional commands (built-in and custom) can be specified with the "Driver Command" Rule when a Driver Session is created in Surveyor.

Driver Commands are not the same as Rules, although the two are closely related.

Information about Driver commands can be found in the "Driver Commands and Working With Industries" section of the "Engineers Handbook" manual which is supplied in electronic form as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file with TRS2004.

Driver Session

Driving Van Trailer (DVT)

Driver Vigilance System (DVS)

DriverCharacter

DriverCommand

DS

DSNGRR

DTC

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D & SNGRR)

DVS

DVT

Dwarf

Dwell Time

DX Goods

Dynamic Brake

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

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E

---

EC

East Coast Main Line (ECML)

EuroCity (EC)

ECML

EE

EEP - Virtual Railroad 3

Eight-Wheeler

"El"

Electro-diesel

Embankment

EMD

EMU

Engine

1. RAILWAYS. A term often used in Britain to refer to a locomotive.

2. TRAINZ. An engine specification of any type of powered rolling stock, such as a locomotive or a multiple unit of any kind.

3. COMPUTERS. That part of a graphical program which handles fundamental movement and display operations.

Engineer

English Scottish And Welsh Railways (ESW)

Environment

EOT

ePortal

ER

1. RAILWAYS. Erie Railroad (USA). Defunct?

2. RAILWAYS. The designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of crew car.

ETD

1. RAILWAYS. End Of Train Device. Same as ETM and FRED.

2. RAILWAYS. Estimated time of departure.

ETH

ETM

Eurostar

Evolution

Exchange Track

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

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F

---

F3A-Series

F40PH

F7A and F7B

FA1

Facing

Fairlie

Fallen Flag

FCT

FDS

Feather

FEC

Feu Convoi

FFS

Fiddle Yard

Fill

First Class Ticket (FCT)

First Great Western Link

First North Western

First Scot Rail

First TransPennine Express

Fishplate

FixedTrack

FK

Flange

Flatcar

Flashing Rear End Device (FRED)

Fleeting

Flying Junction

Flying Shunt

Forward

Example One:

                ------Left-------
               /
------Back------------Right------

Example Two:

------Back------------Left-------
               \
                ------Right------

Example Three:

                ------Left-------
               /
------Back------------Forward----
               \
                ------Right------

Four Foot

FPS

FR

FRA

Frame Rate (Frames Per Second, FPS)

• The power of the computer's processor.

• How much memory (ram) the computer has.

• The quality of the computer's graphics board (also called a video card or display adaptor) and how much memory it has.

• The screen resolution (in terms of x and y, and also the number of colours).

• The choice of graphics handling system (OpenGL or DirectX).

• The video board's quality versus speed settings for OpenGL or DirectX as appropriate (provided the board offers such options).

• The quality versus speed settings of the program. In the case of Trainz, these include smoke effects, fog effects, shadows, how far into the distance objects are displayed, etc.

• On a second-by-second basis, the number of objects in the image currently being displayed and their complexity, whether any movement is currently taking place on screen, whether any other games-related processing is being performed (for example, determining the routes taken by AI drivers in Trainz), and whether the user is moving the camera.

Fraps (external link verified Nov-04) is a freeware utility which displays the current frame rate when a game or simulation program which renders images (including Trainz) is being used. Fraps also includes some other potentially useful facilities including the ability to record a video file of activity while running a game or simulation.

If any Driver Session or Scenario has been run during a Trainz session, then the Jetlog.txt file includes an average FPS figure at the end.

The generally perceived wisdom is that the frame rate will fall when the computer is very busy. However, on my computer Fraps shows the frame rate falling when trains and the camera viewing them are stationary, when the computer is presumably performing the least amount of processing. Perhaps Trainz is intelligent enough to realise that the screen does not need to be updated so frequently when the image is not changing, in somewhat the same way as stat-muxing (statistical multiplexing) works with digital television.

Fraps

FRED

Freight Train

Freightcar Destination System (FDS)

Freightliner

Frog

FS

Funicular

Funnel

Funnel, The

Fylde Coast Tramway

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

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G

---

GameScript

Gantlet Track

Gantry

Gatwick Express

Gauge

Gauntlet Track

1. RAILWAYS. A section where two parallel tracks are interlaced and all four rails are mounted on the same sleeper. There are no junctions or other moving parts, and trains cannot be routed between the two tracks. The arrangement is occasionally used when two separate lines pass over a bridge or through a narrow cutting.

2. RAILWAYS. A section where parallel tracks of different gauges are interlaced and mounted on the same sleepers.

3. RAILWAYS. The sharing of a third central rail between trains travelling in opposite directions. Occasionally used in funiculars and cliff railways, usually with a section in the middle where the tracks diverge onto four rails so as to allow the two cars to pass each other. An example is the Angels Flight funicular in Los Angeles, California.

GE

GE Dash 9-44CW

General Electric (GE)

GEVO

Ghan, The

GIF

1. COMPUTERS. A freeware program which can be used to create 3D models for use in Microsoft Train Simulator, Auran's Trainz and a few other 3D programs. GMax was originally developed by the Discreet division of AutoDesk, but is currently available from TurboSquid (external link verified Oct-05). Free registration is required before the program can be used. See also Trainz Asset Creation Studio (TACS).

2. TRAINZ. File extension. Presumably a 3D object such as a mesh, created by the GMax program.

[The GMW file format] is used in the oil and gas industry for GIS mapping. The term is "General Maintenance Workstation". In the oil and gas industry, GIS mappers use different types of files such as DXF, CGM, LAS, PRJ, and GMW. A General Maintenance Workstation handles all of these types of files and allows for interaction and conversion of file types. A better word for workstation would be software, since the workstation can be just about any PC. Railroads are included in GIS mapping and the Railroad Commission of Texas is in charge of these government documents in our state. [Related subjects include] Global Mapper software, Seismic Micro Technology, Petra for oil and gas, and Landmark/GeoGraphix.

GNER

Golden Spike National Historic Monument

Gondola

1. RAILWAYS. A name used in the USA, and possibly some other countries, for a type of bulk freight wagon. Definitions of this term vary considerably between sources, suggesting different usage by different railroad companies. According to most definitions gondolas have straight sides and ends and no top covering. The bottom is flat or approximately so. Opinions seem to differ on whether or not gondolas have doors at the bottom to release their contents, what exact form these doors might have, and whether the contents can be dumped between the rails or outside them. One source suggests that hoppers are special types of gondolas. Another source says that gondolas come in various types, such as high side, low side, drop end, drop bottom, general purpose and convertible. See also "Hopper".

2. RAILWAYS. On the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway (Colorado, USA), the term gondola is used to refer to open-sided passenger carriages which I suspect have been converted from goods wagons.

Goninan

Goods Train

GP-38 and GP38-2

GP40-2

GP7

Grade

Grade Crossing

Grand Union

Grasshopper

Great Eastern

Great North Eastern

Great Western Main Line (GWML)

GSC (or GSC.EXE)

Guard

Guardsvan

Guideway

GWML

GWR

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

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H

---

Hamilton

HB (or HBD)

Head

Head End

Head End Power (HEP)

Headcode

1. RAILWAYS. In Britain, often used with the same meaning as a Train Reporting Number, a number which uniquely defines a train for signalling and routing purposes. This web site has more information: http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/headcode.htm (external link verified Dec-05). Similar systems are probably used in most other countries.

2. RAILWAYS. In Britain, often used to refer to a disc headcode. On the front of the leading vehicle of a train are four discs, arranged with one disc above and the other three discs in a horizontal row below. Each disc has a hinged semi-circular plate which can be adjusted so that the disc has one of two colours. In the examples I have seen the two possible colours are white and yellow but this might depend on the locomotive. The combination of disc colours signifies the type of train. This web site has more information: http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/headcode.htm (external link verified Dec-05). This system appears to no longer be in use. I do not know whether all trains in Britain used this system, nor do I know whether any other countries have ever used a similar system.

Heartland Corridor

Heathrow Express

Heavy Rail

HEP

HGM

1. RAILWAYS. The designation code used by the Australian Indian Pacific (IP) service for a brake, power and baggage car.

2. RAILWAYS. The designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of power car.

Highball

HM

1. RAILWAYS. The designation code used by the Australian Indian Pacific (IP) service for a baggage or mail car.

2. RAILWAYS. The designation code used by the Australian Ghan service for a type of baggage car.

HOG

Home

Hopper

Hornby Virtual Railway

Hostler

1. RAILWAYS. A term sometimes used in the USA for someone who services railway locomotives, or a driver who works in or around a locomotive servicing shed under the direction of the engine house foreman.

2. RAILWAYS. A term used in the USA for a small power and brake controller provided for the driver at certain positions on a locomotive or multiple unit train for shunting movements where the expense of a driver's cab is not considered necessary. Also called hostler's controls. Known in the UK as a shunting controller.

Hot Box (or Hotbox)

Hot Box Detector (or Hotbox Detector)

Hp

HST

HTM

HUD

Hudson

Hull Trains

Hump Yard

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

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I

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IC

1. RAILWAYS. Illinois Central Railroad (USA). Also ICRR. Merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad in 1972 to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, which according to one source was purchased by the Government Of Canada in 1998. However, according to another course the Canadian National Railway was acquired by the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in 1998.

2. RAILWAYS. Intercity.

ICE

IECC

IJ

IND

1. RAILWAYS. Independent. A subway (underground railway) system in New York City, opened in 1932. Originally an independent company but now part of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA). The lines built by IND are still commonly known by that name. See also "BMT", "IRT" and "PATH".

2. TRAINZ. Indicates that a rolling stock asset (freight wagon or passenger carriage) is compatible with the standard built-in Trainz industry/commodity system. See also "LARS", which is a separate but possibly related industry and freight movement system.

Indexed Mesh File

Indian Pacific (IP)