Engine Names--History Lesson needed

For further clarification, in the vast majority of cases the actual railroad workers of that time, especially the engine crews, referred to locomotive "classes" by the road number series. Thus, the UP 4-8-8-4s were simply the "4000s", on the Nickel Plate the 2-8-4s were simply the "700s", on the Southern Pacific the GS (or Daylights) were simply the "4400s".

In their own time, Southern Pacific 2-10-2's were called "decks" by crews, short for decapod, referring to the 10-coupled drivers. "Decapod" otherwise meant a 2-10-0 on other railroads.

Railroads did not refer to their locomotives' "nicknames"? Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western put cast brass plates on the cylinders of their 4-8-4's reading "Northern Type". Same for 4-8-2 Mountains, too, if I recall.

           Re, the "Montana Type", suspect the Great Northern management just hated to call a locomotive by it's major competitor's name. But the tide of events overwhelmed their title, and "Northern" prevailed on the "Big G", too,  despite common ownership at one time. Perhaps if they had stood firm, "Montana" might have endured, along with such unlikely titles as "Wyoming" for a Lehigh Valley 4-8-4 (Now I believe DLW Pete will advise that the name came from an adjacent river).

           Would agree for train sheets, tonnage rating charts, maintenance schedules, etc., railroads referred to class or numbers for clarity's sake, but all those steam locomotive names weren't just dreamed up by railfans, for use by railfans, no? Bet railroads used the names, too. Wonder what a search of older "Railway Age" and related publications would turn up?

All the Frisco and MoPac company literature I have ever seen used class names rather than wheel arrangement names for their engines:  1500-class, 4500s, 1121s, etc.  There were additional, sometimes affectionate, names for some types.  On the Frisco, many (not all) of the 4-6-0s were called "Berrypickers" because they came out of storage (during the Depression) only during harvet time.  The MoPac's lone mallet was "Old Maude," and their old, Iron Mountain 4-8-0s were "Elephants."

I have a Frisco maintenance book of drawings/stats that lists each class by "Tonnage" and class number, but the wheel arrangement isn't mentioned anywhere on the forms much less given a name. 

While the Whyte system was certainly not an invention of railfans, the railroads were not obligated to employ it themselves.

Yellow Jackets or Stripes for NC&StL as well

Any electric locomotive with a three-part articulated body, with the center section containing the cab and suspended between the two outer hood parts, is usually known as a "crocodile".

Aaron

Crocodile 

Dolphin (with cat ears)

Duckbill Platypus

Toucan (bird)

Skink (lizard) 

I have a few more.

I read some time ago that SP renamed their GS engines "General Service" (vs. Golden State) for at least one procurement.

In the early 1900's, New York Central predecessor Lake Shore & Michigan Southern referred to their 4-4-2 (Atlantic) as the "Chautauqua" type, no doubt due to passenger traffic to Westfield NY during the summer months. Westfield was the "jumping off point" to the Chautauqua Institution south of Westfield.

A trolley line that ran to Chautauqua terminated at the NYC station at Westfield. it was known as the JW&NW, that is, Jamestown, Westfield, and Northwestern. Riders unused to the harsh ride said it stood for "Jesus Wept, and No Wonder".....

The B&O 2-8-8-4's, a yellowstone type, was called "Appalachain" by the railroad.

The crews, at least here on the West End, called them Big Appa's. Since the thirty of them began with 7600 numbers, they were also called the "seventy six hundreds"

H O "Hogie" Hovater, who ran WMSR 734 for a time, also fired some of them when he first came to the Baltimore and Ohio. He told me they steamed easy, and rode "Like a Pullman!"

The B&O's 2-10-2's, numbered in the 6200's, were called Big Six's by the crews.

I seem to remember an effort, during WW11, to rename the Mikados MacArthurs , due to war with Japan.

Ed

The Union Pacific Railroad did just that. The UP museum even has the letter correspondence between General Douglas MacArthur and the UP, permitting the UP to use is name on a class of locomotives. General MacArthur was actually quite honored.

Where did you discover the nicknames for the Shinkansen? And what class is the "toucan" (looks like it might be Chinese rather than Japanese)?

I always thought the 500 Series looked like a baleen whale, when viewed from the front.

While we're on the subject of Japanese trains, the C62 4-6-4s were called "swallows".

Aaron