Railroad nicknames
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.
Railroad |
Locale |
Common abbreviation |
Nickname(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
Amtrak |
United States |
AMTK |
Amcrash |
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 |
BNSF Railway |
Western United States |
BNSF |
Buy Now, Sell Fast |
Boston and Maine Railroad |
Northeastern United States |
B&M |
Beaten and Mismanaged |
Burlington Northern Railway |
Northern United States |
BN |
Big Nothing |
Canadian National Railway |
Canada and Midwest United States |
CN |
Cooked Noodles |
Canadian Pacific Railway |
Canada |
CP |
Can't Play |
Chicago and North Western Railway |
Midwest United States |
C&NW |
Cheap and Nothing Wasted |
Chicago Great Western Railroad |
Midwest United States |
CGW |
Great Weedy |
Copper River and Northwestern Railway |
Alaska, United States |
CR&NW |
Can't Run and Never Will |
CSX Transportation |
Eastern United States |
CSX |
Chicken [...] Xpress |
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 |
Erie Lackawanna Railway |
Eastern United States |
EL |
Erie Lack-o-Money |
Gateway Western Railway |
Missouri and Illinois |
GWWR |
Great Wobbly Wobbly |
Guilford Rail System |
Northeastern United States |
GRS |
Guilford Fail System |
Kansas City Southern Railroad |
Midwestern and Southern United States |
KCS |
The Haywire |
London and Port Stanley Railway |
Ontario, Canada |
L&PS |
Liver and Pork Steak |
Long Island Railroad |
New York City |
LIRR |
The Liar's Route |
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
New England |
MBTA |
Mucho Bad Transit Attitude |
Missouri Pacific Railroad |
Western United States |
MP |
The Mop |
Norfolk Southern Railway |
Eastern United States |
NS |
[...] Southern |
New York, Ontario and Western Railway |
New England, United States |
O&W |
Old and Weary |
Penn Central Railroad |
Northeastern United States |
PC |
Plucked Clean |
Peoria and Pekin Union Railroad |
Illinois, United States |
P&PU |
Pee and Poo |
Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway |
Quebec, Canada |
PP&J |
Push, Pull and Jerk |
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway |
Midwestern and Southern United States |
SLSF |
The Frisco |
Seaboard System Railroad |
Eastern United States |
SBD |
Slowly Breaking Down |
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority |
Eastern United States |
SEPTA |
Society for the Elimination of Public Transit Altogether |
Southern Pacific Railroad |
Southwest United States |
SP |
Sour Pete |
Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad |
Southwest United States (proposed) |
SPSF |
Shouldn't Paint So Fast |
Springfield Terminal Railway |
Northeastern United States |
ST |
Slow Trains |
Staten Island Rapid Transit |
Eastern United States |
SIRT |
Shall I Run Today? |
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 |
Union Pacific Railroad |
Western United States |
UP |
Under Powered |
Western Pacific Railroad |
Western United States |
WP |
(The) Wobbly |
White Pass and Yukon Route |
Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia |
WP&YR |
Wait Patiently, and You'll Ride |
See also
- Rail terminology