Glossary of North American Railway Terms

Pac-Man: A nickname for Canadian Pacific Railway's 1968-1996 logo featuring a black triangle within a white half-circle, which resembles the main character of the video arcade game Pac-Man. It was CP's corporate logo for all business aspects - railway (CP Rail), shipping (CP Ships), telecommunications (CNCP), trucking (CP Express) and airline (CP Air). It was officially known as the Multimark.

Patch: (also patch job) A locomotive or car wearing a new reporting mark and/or number on a "patch" over existing paint, usually of the former owner's.

Pennsy Style: Nickname for old Pennsylvania Railroad position light signals.

Pepsi Can: An Amtrak GE Dash 8-32BWH, in reference to the units' original paint scheme with large red and blue stripes. Also referred to as "Cutters" for the striping's supposed similarity to striping on Coast Guard vessels.

Pig train: a train devoted exclusively to intermodal (piggyback) traffic, generally trailers on flatcars (TOFC) or containers on flatcars (COFC).

(Pennsylvania) Position Light Signal(s): signals made by the Pennsylvania Railroad that make use of a circular disc with up to 8 lights mounted in a circle, with one light in the center. The lights would line up in a straight line to give the indication. These signals are still in use today, although they are quickly being replaced by "Darth Vader" colorlight signals. For Pennsylvania signals that are still in use, most have had all of their yellow/amber lenses removed (except for their "approach" and diverging indications), and have had their "stop" indication fitted with red lights. Some signals may have their "clear" or "go" indication with green lights.