flâneur

Jing Jing 龍

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  • Worn Flat (Car Wheels) Irregular wear under fair usage, due to unequal hardness of the tread of the wheel, and to be carefully distinguished from slid flat, which is a defect produced by the slipping of the wheels from excessive brake pressure.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Wigwag A largely superseded Level or grade crossing warning signal that consists of a swinging disc facing road traffic, with a red light in the centre. The disc normally hangs straight down, but an approaching train sets it swinging from side to side, the red light illuminates or flashes, and a bell rings.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Whyte notation A system of describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements (e.g. 4-6-4, 2-10-2).
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Also a nickname for an air horn on a diesel locomotive.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Whistle Train whistles are used as a safety warning and also by the engineer to communicate to other railroad workers.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Wheel Boss (British). American term hub. The center of the wheel, which is bored out to receive the axle.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Wheel Base The horizontal distance between centers ©f the first and last axles of a locomotive or tender. It is usual, in stating locomotive dimensions, to give the rigid wheel base, the truck wheel base and the total wheel base.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Wheel climb Also Adhesion railway. The process of a wheel climbing up and often off the inside or gauge side of the rail. It is a major source of derailments.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Water Pull Bar Grate Also see Grate A grate designed for burning anthracite coal, consisting of tubes running longitudinally through the bottom of the firebox and communicating with the front and back water legs, usually screwed into the tube sheet and expanded into the back sheet, a copper ferrule being used to insure a tight joint.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Water gauge or water glass A water gauge A device to enable an engineman or fireman to observe the height of water in a locomotive boiler.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Water Brake An arrangement, consisting of a set of pipes and valves connected to a locomotive boiler below the water line, for admitting water to the cylinders to retard the motion of the pistons and thus act as a brake on the locomotive, which is run with the reverse lever back of the center. It is used on lines having long, steep grades.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Vacuum brake A continuous train brake that is fail-safe in operation.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • A mechanical or electrical device for detecting the presence of a rail vehicle with pin-point accuracy, unlike a track circuit, which provides detection over an arbitrary distances
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Turntable A section of track that rotates to let locomotives and rolling stock turn around or access several engine maintenance sidings in a small area
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Trainset A group of rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment. Trainsets are most often used in passenger train configurations.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Track transition curve
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Track bed or trackbed The foundation of rail tracks
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Tie plate A plate bolted to sleepers to hold the rails in place
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Through coach A passenger coach that is disconnected from one train and attached to another before continuing on with its journey, thus avoiding the need for passengers themselves to switch trains
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Switchback or zig zag
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Superheater A device in a steam locomotive that raises the temperature of saturated steam substantially beyond the boiling point of water, increasing power and efficiency
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Supercharger A mechanical device that boosts the pressure of engine intake air to above atmospheric level, causing an increase in power. Not to be confused with the blower used to scavenge the cylinders of a naturally aspirated two-stroke Diesel engine.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Station master The person in charge of a station
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Span bolster The beam between two bogies
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Snowplow, snow plow, snowplough, or snow plough
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Slow order A local speed restriction below the track's normal speed limit often designated by yellow and green flags. Slow orders can be imposed on a temporary basis to protect, for example, maintenance of way employees while sections of track are under repair. Widely used in areas where track is substandard and in need of repair.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Signal passed at danger An event in which a train passes a signal to stop without authorization to do so
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Siding A section of track off the main line. Sidings are often used for storing rolling stock or freight. A siding is also used as a form of rail access for warehouses and other businesses, where the siding often meets up with loading docks at rail car height. In the U.S. the term also covers the British term loop. Also, a passing track in the U.S.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Shunt In UK and Australian parlance, to make up and divide trains in sidings, to move trains to or from sidings, or to move trains between platforms in a station
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Semaphore signal A British lower-quadrant semaphore signal with subsidiary arm below A type of signal that has a moving arm to change the indication
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Sandite Consists of a mixture of sand, aluminium, and a unique type of adhesive, used instead of plain sand for extreme slippery rail conditions
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Refuge siding A siding used as a passing place on a main line, where slow trains may be held whilst an express passes—a simpler, but less convenient, form of the passing loop
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Saddle tank A tank locomotive with the water tank mounted on top of the boiler like a saddle
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Runaway A heavy train that has lost speed control while descending a steep grade, due to either brake failure or poor preparation by the crew
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Run The action verb for the train's movement.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Rerail frog or rerailer A rerail frog or rerailer A metal casting slotted over the rail near the wheel of a derailed train car. The engine then pushes or pulls the car so that the derailed wheel runs up the rerailer and back onto the track
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Red zone The area between, under, or within a few feet of cars and locomotives. To enter the zone, a ground employee must obtain protection from the locomotive engineer (if a locomotive is coupled) or a blue signal (if no locomotive is coupled).
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Rail squeal A screeching train-track friction sound, most commonly occurring on sharp curves or heavy braking
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Rail grinder A machine used to remove irregularities in the surface of the rails that may be self-powered or part of a consist
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Railcar A powered single unit or articulated passenger car, usually “railroad-derived” light DMU or EMU, with a driver's cab at one or both ends
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Rack railway, rack-and-pinion railway, or cog railway A steep-grade railway with a toothed rack rail (usually between the running rails), used when adhesion is insufficient
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Pound The weight (and thus the cross section) of a length of rail.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Possession A period of time when one or more tracks are closed for maintenance. For the duration of the work, a person in charge of possession (PICOP) has control of the line.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Positive train control (PTC) A system of functional requirements for monitoring and controlling train movements with the aim of increasing operational safety
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Porch The extended walkway at either end of a U.S. locomotive
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Pony truck A two-wheel truck or bogie at the front of a locomotive
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Pilot man Where it is necessary to temporarily work a section of line as single track (for instance if the other track of a double-track line is out of use), a person (the pilot man) acts as the single track token.
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • An employee qualified on the operating rules and physical characteristics of a certain section of the railroad, assisting a crew member who is not so qualified[182][183] See also: Railroad engineer
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Pilot A deflective shield affixed to the front of a locomotive to protect its wheels from on-track debris; archaically called a "cowcatcher"
    Glossary of rail transport terms
  • Permissive signal A block signal whose most restrictive indication is stop and proceed. A permissive signal is identified by the presence of a number plate affixed to the mast or supporting structure. Proceeding beyond a permissive signal at stop is allowed at restricted speed if operating conditions enable a train operator to stop before reaching any train or obstruction.
    Glossary of rail transport terms