This article lists some of the
terminology used at present and in the past by railway employees,
railway enthusiasts and railway historians in
Australia. Many appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. Significant regional variations exist, indicated by abbreviations of the state (e.g. Vic, NSW) or railway (e.g. SAR).[note 1]
Model 75 Brill railcar (nickname from the South Australian premier 1920–1924,
Henry Barwell; "bull" may have originated in the characteristic deep "bellow" of the railcar's horn[2]: 3‑494
Basket (SAR)
Basket of coal (measurement: 25 baskets to the ton)[1]
BETY (Qld)
QR BB181⁄4 class Pacific type (
4-6-2) steam locomotive used on express passenger and freight trains (named after the telegraphic code; pronounced "Betty")
Bleed (SAR)
Drain the air from the brake reservoir of a train or a rail vehicle[1]
A Queensland
electric multiple unit[which?] with one cab modified to only have one central windshield, which can then only be used as a guard's cab in the middle of a six-car set
Connect air hoses and open air taps (see "
Button up")[1]
Mustard pot (SAR)
Traffic yellow (orange), red oxide and silver colour scheme of SAR
830 class diesel locomotives before
AN take-over, or one of such locomotives[1]
N
Nanny (NSW)
NSW C.35 Class locomotive – probably derived from original class numbers NN
Narrow gauge (all jurisdictions)
Most commonly
1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge in the states of Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia; also sugar cane lines of 762 millimetres (2 feet 6 inches) and 610 millimetres (2 feet 0 inches) gauge
Number nicker or number shark (Vic)
A trainspotter who records numbers of trains they have seen
Place shown on public timetables at which a passenger either signals a train to stop or, if on board, asks the
guard beforehand (see also
Rail motor stopping place)[8]
Employee who applies brakes on rolling stock in yard work[1]
Staff
System of safe-working used on single track to allow the movement of trains; in its simplest form each block section had a small bar or staff which must be carried by any train moving over the section. This, however, requires trains to run alternately in opposite directions. With the electric staff system, there are several staffs to each block, and these are placed in cases at either
end. The cases are electrically connected, each one controlled by the signalman at the other end.[11]: 265
Steel set (Qld)
QR suburban electric passenger sets from the 1960s, replacing the Evans sets (see
Red rattler (Qld))
^Terminology of the other railway to operate in South Australia before its amalgamation with the SAR's country operations under the
Australian National banner – the
Commonwealth Railways – is not included in this list. The
South Australian Railways' orientation towards
United States terminology and practices largely originated with their introduction by the American railways commissioner 1922–1930,
William Alfred Webb, and continued because of employees' enthusiasm for US railroad developments thereafter.
^Cunningham, William A. (1997). The railroad lantern, 1865 to 1930: the evolution of the railroad hand lantern as reflected by the United States Patent records and by lanterns made by Cross, Dane & Westlake, Dane, Westlake & Covert, the Adams & Westlake Manufacturing Co. & the Adams & Westlake Company. Wm. A. Cunningham.
This article lists some of the
terminology used at present and in the past by railway employees,
railway enthusiasts and railway historians in
Australia. Many appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. Significant regional variations exist, indicated by abbreviations of the state (e.g. Vic, NSW) or railway (e.g. SAR).[note 1]
Model 75 Brill railcar (nickname from the South Australian premier 1920–1924,
Henry Barwell; "bull" may have originated in the characteristic deep "bellow" of the railcar's horn[2]: 3‑494
Basket (SAR)
Basket of coal (measurement: 25 baskets to the ton)[1]
BETY (Qld)
QR BB181⁄4 class Pacific type (
4-6-2) steam locomotive used on express passenger and freight trains (named after the telegraphic code; pronounced "Betty")
Bleed (SAR)
Drain the air from the brake reservoir of a train or a rail vehicle[1]
A Queensland
electric multiple unit[which?] with one cab modified to only have one central windshield, which can then only be used as a guard's cab in the middle of a six-car set
Connect air hoses and open air taps (see "
Button up")[1]
Mustard pot (SAR)
Traffic yellow (orange), red oxide and silver colour scheme of SAR
830 class diesel locomotives before
AN take-over, or one of such locomotives[1]
N
Nanny (NSW)
NSW C.35 Class locomotive – probably derived from original class numbers NN
Narrow gauge (all jurisdictions)
Most commonly
1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge in the states of Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia; also sugar cane lines of 762 millimetres (2 feet 6 inches) and 610 millimetres (2 feet 0 inches) gauge
Number nicker or number shark (Vic)
A trainspotter who records numbers of trains they have seen
Place shown on public timetables at which a passenger either signals a train to stop or, if on board, asks the
guard beforehand (see also
Rail motor stopping place)[8]
Employee who applies brakes on rolling stock in yard work[1]
Staff
System of safe-working used on single track to allow the movement of trains; in its simplest form each block section had a small bar or staff which must be carried by any train moving over the section. This, however, requires trains to run alternately in opposite directions. With the electric staff system, there are several staffs to each block, and these are placed in cases at either
end. The cases are electrically connected, each one controlled by the signalman at the other end.[11]: 265
Steel set (Qld)
QR suburban electric passenger sets from the 1960s, replacing the Evans sets (see
Red rattler (Qld))
^Terminology of the other railway to operate in South Australia before its amalgamation with the SAR's country operations under the
Australian National banner – the
Commonwealth Railways – is not included in this list. The
South Australian Railways' orientation towards
United States terminology and practices largely originated with their introduction by the American railways commissioner 1922–1930,
William Alfred Webb, and continued because of employees' enthusiasm for US railroad developments thereafter.
^Cunningham, William A. (1997). The railroad lantern, 1865 to 1930: the evolution of the railroad hand lantern as reflected by the United States Patent records and by lanterns made by Cross, Dane & Westlake, Dane, Westlake & Covert, the Adams & Westlake Manufacturing Co. & the Adams & Westlake Company. Wm. A. Cunningham.