Freight crews call passenger trains varnish, after the glossy varnished finish of wooden passenger coaches. The word covers intercity and commuter trains alike, and it carries a touch of envy or irritation from crews who run behind them. Passenger trains get preference on the freight railroads that host them, so freight crews hear about the varnish every time they are told to take the siding.
Heard on the job
Get in the clear at Elm and let the varnish by, Amtrak's running thirty late and the DS is getting yelled at.
Also heard as
- passenger train
- the varnish