Glossary of North American Railway Terms - R

R

• Racetrack: Nickname for a stretch of Metra Commuter Rail line and BNSF freight line between Chicago and Aurora where commuter trains and freight trains commonly attain high speeds. Also used to refer to the parallel tracks of the O&W and DL&W north of Norwich.

• Raccoon: Norfolk Southern locomotives that have the entire area around the cab windows painted white, resembling the face of a raccoon.

• Racks: 1. Multiple autoracks 2. The portion of an autorack which is attached to a flat car in order to protect the vehicles inside and may contain 1, 2, or 3 levels depending on the height of the vehicles being shipped.

• Rare Mileage: A passenger train traveling over track that does not have regular passenger service.

• Red Barns: Canadian Pacific's SD40-2F locomotives.

• Reefer: A refrigerator car.

• Rent-a-Wreck: Locomotive owned by a leasing company.

• Reporting mark: A code assigned by the Association of American Railroads to identify the owners of rolling stock in North America.

• Right Way: A "high nose" locomotive running with the long hood facing forward. Reminiscent of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western Railway style of running locomotives.

• Rhino(s): Nickname for HHP-8 electric locomotives used by Amtrak for Northeast Regional service.

• Roster Shooter: Someone interested in photographing every locomotive road number they can.

• Running Board(s): Description of the walkboards found on the tops and ends of rail cars. Also called grating.