Glossary of New Zealand railway terms

B

Blue Fern

A passenger train of 56-foot steel-panelled carriages replacing 'Silver Fern' railcars on the North Island Main Trunk when they were unavailable

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

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).

Bobtail

W^W class locomotives before rebuilding

C

Carvan

Passenger carriage with a guard's compartment at one end, classes A^F (wooden body) and A^L (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 A^L carvans were used in suburban service only.

Cato Blue

New Zealand Rail/Tranz Rail blue, yellow and grey livery used from 1990 to 2001. Originally NZ Rail used a darker blue, which was changed to a lighter tone by Tranz Rail.

Clockwork Orange

1970s orange and yellow livery used on DX class

Coalies

Coal train, particularly from Rapahoe and Ngakawau on the West Coast to Lyttelton. Also Genesis Energy coal trains between Mount Manganui and Weavers Crossing (these trains ceased running in 2012), but not for coal trains on the Rotowaro Industrial Branch.

Corn-cob

Toll Rail yellow and aquamarine livery

Cyclops

A restored Wellington EMU set including DM 556

D

Dixies

DX class locomotives

Drewrys

NZR RM class 88 seater railcars

Dora the Explorer

Northern Explorer

E

Elephant style

Multiple locomotives coupled 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.

F

Fairlie Flyer

The passenger train between Washdyke Junction and Fairlie along the Fairlie Branch. Also A^B 699 on the Pleasant Point Railway, which runs along part of the old branch line.

Fiats

NZR RM class 88 seater railcars

Flying Matangi

Matangi FP/FT class EMU 4472—so named as it shares its number with the LNER Class A3 steam locomotive 4472 Flying Scotsman

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

G

Grass Grubs

88 seater railcars 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 bottles

F^S class steam heating vans used to warm the carriages of passenger trains following the withdrawal of steam traction in 1968 (North Island) and 1971 (South Island)

Highsider

The L, L^A, L^B, and L^C wagons—so called for their high metal (L^A, L^C) or wooden (L, L^B) sides

I

International Orange

A livery of yellow, orange-red and grey, more popularly known as Fruit Salad

J

Jigger

A track inspection vehicle

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

Kingston Flyer

Heritage passenger train instituted in 1972 using steam locomotives A^B 778 and A^B 795, originally between Lumsden and Kingston and later truncated to the 14 km 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, M^A, M^B, M^C, and M^CC 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.

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

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

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 D^G 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

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 Tranz Metro Wellington units

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.

Rimutaka railcars

Wairarapa railcars, derived from the fact they were built to operate on the Rimutaka Incline

Roadsiders

The Z class bogie vans, 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 80 km/h.

S

The Sergeant

ED electric locomotive 101, so called because of the three stripes on the body

Skippy

Toll-liveried locomotive. Derived from Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, as Toll is an Australian company.

Super Ganz

The refurbished Ganz Mavag EMU EM 1373

T

Tin Hares

Wairarapa railcars

Toasters

New Zealand EF class locomotives, because of their toaster-like appearance

Tonka Toy

The preserved TR class locomotive

Tropical

1970s orange and yellow livery; used on the DX class

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.

Twinsets

NZR RM class 88 seater railcars

U

Units

Electric multiple units

V

Velocipede

Track-inspection jigger

W

Water bottle

Tank car filled with water, used behind preserved steam locomotives