page_title: Glossary of North American railway terms
section_title: P
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of North American railway terms / P
caption_attribution_description: Union Pacific Railroad #588, an EMD GP38-2. This is an ex Southern Pacific Railroad unit. Photographed at Anaheim, California, USA on February 6, 2005 by User:Morven.
context_page_description: This page contains a list of terms, jargon, and slang used to varying degrees by railfans and railroad employees in the United States and Canada. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. Inclusion of a term in this list does not necessarily imply its universal adoption by all railfans and railroad employees, and there may be significant regional variation in usage.
context_section_description: Pac-Man
  A nickname for the 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.
  Passenger car (US)
  Railway vehicle for use in passenger trains
  Patch
  A locomotive or car wearing a new reporting mark or number on a "patch" over existing paint, usually of the former owner's
  Pennsy Style
  A 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 traffic, generally trailers on flatcars (TOFC) or containers on flatcars (COFC)
  Plate (US)
  The measurement of a freight car's vertical clearance. Plate F and above is considered excess height, and such cars must avoid low-clearance routes. See also: Loading gauge
  Pole switching (also called "poling")
   A method of switching cars on adjacent tracks in which a pole is positioned between the locomotive and car, then the locomotive pushes the car using the pole. The pole is fitted into poling pockets on the locomotive and car to ensure it does not move during the switching maneuver.
  Pooch
  A nickname for the General Electric P30CH locomotives. So termed by the similar appearance of the model name to the word pooch: P30CH / POOCH.
  Position light signal (Pennsylvania)
  Signals made by the Pennsylvania Railroad that make use of a circular disc with up to eight lights mounted in a circle, with one light in the center. The lights would line up in a straight line to give the indication.
  Private varnish (PV)
  Privately owned passenger cars
  Pumpkin
  BNSF Railway's current bright orange paint scheme
  CSX's or Amtrak's maintenance-of-way paint scheme
  Formerly ICG's all-orange scheme
caption: Union Pacific 588, formerly owned by Southern Pacific, showing a patch paint job of the new owner's reporting marks
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