Yellow and black Tranz Rail livery. Introduced on DC 4323 in 2001 after the Makihi collision, and officially named 'Hi-Viz'. Originally all locos were to have the Tranz Rail winged logo, but most carried 'TR' block letters on the long hood and several locos did not carry any branding (No Name). Bumble-bee livery was a term promoted by the past editor of NZ Railfan magazine.
Bobtails
A nickname mostly used for the WW class but according to Nelson section crew the WF class was also called such name.[3]
Passenger carriage with a guard's compartment at one end, classes AF (wooden body) and AL (steel body). Originally built to relieve a shortage of guard's vans and used on rural branch lines in place of a separate carriage and guard's van, the later AL carvans were used in suburban service only.
Clockwork Orange
1970s orange and yellow livery used on DX class[5]
N and M class steam locomotives coupled together. 'En, an abbreviation of 'hen', refers to the larger N class locomotive, and chicken refers to its underpowered M class assistant.[9]
A simplified version of the Fruit Salad livery, with the grey replaced with red. Applied to members of the DC, DF, DSC, and TR class locomotives in the 1980s as a cheaper alternative to the full Fruit Salad livery.
Fruit Salad
NZR red and grey livery with yellow highlights, also known as International Orange[6]
Foamer
A railfan—particularly one whose enthusiasm appears excessive[10]
Grass Grub
A 88 seater railcar converted to carriages for locomotive haulage, from their green livery[2]
Gull Roost
The Onerahi Branch's 323-metre-long bridge across the harbour in Whangārei, because of the large number of gulls that roosted there. The branch closed in 1933 and the bridge no longer exists.[11]
A FS class steam heating van used to warm the carriages of passenger trains following the withdrawal of steam traction in 1968 (North Island) and 1971 (South Island)[5]
Hot water boy
A member of a heritage railway, or a number of heritage railways, who only volunteers on days where engines are in steam. Will go out of their way to try and fire and drive the locomotive, and when successful will boast and be photographed beside the engine.[citation needed]
Highsider
The L, LA, LB, and LC wagons—so called for their high metal (LA, LC) or wooden (L, LB) sides
International Orange
The NZR livery of yellow, orange-red and grey, more popularly known as Fruit Salad[12]
Heritage passenger train instituted in 1972 using steam locomotives AB 778 and AB 795, originally between Lumsden and Kingston and later truncated to the 14km (8.7mi) between Fairlight and Kingston
Longest xylophone in the world
Former road and rail bridge on the now-closed portion of the Ross Branch south of Hokitika—named for the loud rattling its planks made[15]
Lowsiders
The M, MA, MB, MC, and MCC wagons, so called for their low sides. These wagons had lower sides than the L-series 'highsider' wagons, and were often used for loads that could not fit into a highsider or did not warrant the use of one.
Lokey
Locomotive on a bush tramway. Abbreviation of the term 'locomotive', but shortened by bush workers and adopted by railway enthusiasts.
Matangi
FT/FT class electric multiple unit used on the Wellington suburban network, chosen in 2008 in a public competition run by the Greater Wellington Regional Council, and comes from the Māori word matangi, meaning wind or breeze (in reference to Wellington's windy reputation)
Several Tranz Rail locomotives received the 'Bumble Bee' paint scheme without any signwriting on the long hood. Mostly applied to members of the DC and DX classes.
A Leyland Cub car converted to run on rails for inspection use by the Railways Department General Manager Garnet Mackley in 1933. It was converted for uses associated with electrified lines in 1941, and after spending a few years in the Hutt Valley, it was transferred to Otira and remained there until the Otira Tunnel was de-electrified in 1997. It is now owned by the Ferrymead Railway.[20]
Roadsider
A Z-class bogie van, so called as they could be unloaded (supposedly) onto the roadside. Often used for parcels traffic, especially by Railfreight, and as luggage vans on express passenger trains, for which they were fitted with x-25330 'Timken' bogies to run at 80km/h (50mph).
The Sergeant
ED electric locomotive 101, so called because of the three stripes on the body[21]
1970s orange and yellow livery; used on the DX class[24]
The Twins
DBR class Wellington-based locomotives 1200 and 1267, commonly paired for purposes such as banking south of Paekākāriki. Because of this nickname, paired DBRs in Auckland are occasionally referred to as "non-identical twins", depending on their liveries.[25]
Millar, Sean (2001). From A to Y Avoiding I: 125 Years of Railway Motive Power Classification in New Zealand. New Zealand. p.35.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Ian Johnstone, Hugh Macdonald, David Sims (1998). Total Steam: Great New Zealand Railway Journeys (VHS). Auckland: Memory Lane Productions. OCLC155459064.
Tibbles, Ian (2015). A West Coast Engineman. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p.190. ISBN978-0-908573-90-5.
Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Seconded.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN0-908876-20-3.