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.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| 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
- ^ Bradley & Gore: Forget the Past; NARAL Test; Bush Scolded as Racist Lout. Media Research Center CyberAlert (2000-07-14). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c "Nicknames on the Rail", New York Times, 1890-12-21. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Railroads. Ohio History Central. Ohio Historical Society (2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Railroad Photographs of Guilford Rail System / Springfield Terminal. Massroads.com Transportation Images (2007-05-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
