Route Nicknames

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Thirdrail7 said:
PRR 60 said:
Then there is ACELA: Amtrak Customers Expect Late Arrivals.
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I FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE!!!!

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Another classic that needs to be reintroduced to the newbies....particularly these days. I'll start immediately!

I know a couple of people still refer to them as the "late-cela."
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Was gonna say, been out here for a year and a half and have never heard that.

I've personally started dubbing 67/65/66 the Nutjob Express.
 
Heard CN was called "crash national" and CP "Canadian pathetic" (esp since the failed merger)

Nicknames for the sunset limited could be "limited sunset", "sunset delayed" and "sunset limiter" due to the limited schedule (3 times a week) and poor on time performance (at least before)
 
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In the 60's my namesake train ran on the Delaware & Hudson, known to my family as the Despondent & Hopeless!
 
Chicago and North Western = Can Not Worsen

Chicago Great Western = Can't Get Worse, Chicago Great Weedy, "Corn Belt Route."

Burlington Northern = Big Nasty ( A reference to the use of "lawfare" towards their competition ).

For more nicknames, see http://mopac1.tripod.com/Nicknames.htm
 
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The old New York Central bragged about its "Water Level Route" (across the Appalachian's), but wags referred to it as "the sewer level route"... :p
 
Cardinal: Angry Bird

Crescent: Croissant

Capitol Limited: Capitol Punishment

Palmetto: Chicken Bone

Silver Star: People's Train

Silver Meteor: The Meter

Piedmont: The Peanut Train

Auto Train: The Flagship
 
The oldest nickname I ever heard was for the Silver Meteor - It was known for many years as the "Yom Kippur Clipper". The name has, somehow, moved to the Auto Train now, though.

The South Wind was often known as the Ill Wind.

A couple of others - non Amtrak - I have heard - The L&N Railroad and their trains were known as the Late and Never or the Lousy and Nauseous.

Then, there is one that is very old - on a branch line in South Alabama (most of it is gone) there was a local freight known as "the Judy". I asked one of the old timers where the nickname came from and was told that when it was a mixed train, people would ask the conductor where to eat in one of the towns, he told them the best place in town was "Judy's". Thus the name.
 
Some of the names that I declined to mention because I consider them in bad taste, included the Yom Kippur (pronounced Kipper) Clipper and others that referred to the many Jewish passengers traveling between New York and Florida. While I doubt that any official tally has ever been kept, the demographics seem to have changed in more recent years. The passengers seem to be more representative of the population as a whole. However, there was a time when there was a policy to avoid putting pork on an Auto Train menu, and bagels were an essential part of breakfast. The bagels are still there.

Tom
 
Although it was only for freight trains, a coalition of shorter railroads tried to compete with the major trunk lines between the East and the Midwest by piecing together an alternate through route, known collectively as the "Alphabet Route".....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Route

It would be interesting if they ever did run a through passenger train over it, but it would probably take twice as long as the "trunks" did....
 
railiner said:
Although it was only for freight trains, a coalition of shorter railroads tried to compete with the major trunk lines between the East and the Midwest by piecing together an alternate through route, known collectively as the "Alphabet Route".....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Route

It would be interesting if they ever did run a through passenger train over it, but it would probably take twice as long as the "trunks" did....
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The Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal RR had a passenger terminal in Pittsburgh, and operated through service of some sort from Chicago in cooperation with the Wabash, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and Pittsburgh & West Virginia, I don't know whether passengers could travel through without changing cars. They may have had to change in Toledo. I don't think this service lasted much past WWI. I'm not aware of this service continuing east via Pittsburgh & West Virginia and Western Maryland, but I'm not sure.

The Alphabet Route was Wabash to Wheeling & Lake Erie to Pittsburgh & West Virginia to Western Maryland to Reading (WAB/W&LE/P&WV/WM/RDG).

By working together, these smaller railroads were able to compete effectively in the freight market with larger railroads that had more direct, wholly owned routes.

One other irreverent nickname for the Auto Train: The Kosher Cannonball.

Tom
 
I asked my SCA this question on my latest trip and her said "Oh man, I've heard some REALLY good ones I'm not supposed to say" but she did tell me a few ones. I called out different train routes to her & asked her to say the first thing that came to mind, nickname or not.

Auto Train - The Disney World Express or When Can I SMOKE train.

Capitol Limited - Glad I ain't workin' THAT train!

Cardinal - (She just laughed and said "NEXT!")

Coastal Starlight - Oooh, that's my favorite. They have a REAL diner car.

Empire Builder - Oh yah, beautiful, ya betcha.

California Zephyr - The Hippie Trippie (I cracked up at that one)

The others were the ones already mentioned on here.
 
From another board: Inepta (Septa)

From a railroader : Metro-Sloth (Metro-North)

I approve this message.
 
I've heard some OBS crews on the Sunset Limited take a jab at the advanced average age of the passengers by referring to it as the "Triage Train". While I agree that most folks who have time to ride an unreliable UP-dispatched train for 2 days between California and Louisiana are retired, I think the term "triage" is a little extreme and rather crude to describe their average age. I believe (Our former Auto Train OBS fellow may feel free to correct me on this) that same term has been used to characterize the advanced average age of the Auto Train's contingency of riders.
 
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