Wikipedia:Naming conventions (locomotives)

This page documents a proposed naming convention for locomotives.

Naming articles after the operator

Prior to standardization most locomotives were identified with the single company that operated them, rather than the manufacturer. This is true for almost all steam locomotive classes.

A typical locomotive article named after the operator has the following form:

<full name of operator> <class> <locomotive type>

Full name of operator

This should be the WP:COMMONNAME of the company, including "Railroad", "Railway", or similar names:

Pennsylvania Railroad class GG1 instead of Pennsylvania class GG1

If the company has a formal name which differs from the common name, use the common name:

Chicago and North Western Railway class E-4 instead of Chicago and North Western Transportation Company class E-4

If a company is unambiguously known by an abbreviation which would be recognizable to general readers, use that instead of the full name:

LNER class A4 instead of London and North Eastern Railway class A4

Class

This should be written as "class", uncapitalized:

Pennsylvania Railroad class GG1 instead of Pennsylvania Class GG1

Locomotive type

This should be the type/identifier of the locomotive. Use reliable sources to determine proper capitalization and use of hyphens.

Naming articles after the manufacturer

Post standardization most locomotives are identified with their manufacturer. This is true almost all diesels built in North America.

A typical locomotive article named after the manufacturer has the following form:

<full name of manufacturer> <locomotive type>

Full name of operator

This should be the WP:COMMONNAME of the company, excluding corporate signifiers:

Brookville BL20CG instead of Brookville Equipment Corporation BL20CG

If a company is unambiguously known by an abbreviation which would be recognizable to general readers, use that instead of the full name:

EMD GP40 instead of Electro-Motive Division GP40

GE U34CH instead of General Electric U34CH

If multiple companies are identified in reliable sources as the builder, include all of them separated by a dash. Do not use slashes:

Bombardier–Alstom HHP-8 instead of Bombardier/Alstom HHP-8

Locomotive type

This should be the type/identifier of the locomotive. Use reliable sources to determine proper capitalization and use of hyphens.

Naming articles for individual locomotives

A typical individual locomotive article has the following form:

<full name of the operator> <number> <optional name>

Full name of operator

This should be the WP:COMMONNAME of the company, including "Railroad", "Railway", or similar names:

Pennsylvania Railroad 1223 instead of Pennsylvania 1223

If the company has a formal name which differs from the common name, use the common name:

Southern Pacific Railroad 4449 instead of Southern Pacific Transportation Company 4449

If a company is unambiguously known by an abbreviation which would be recognizable to general readers, use that instead of the full name:

LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman instead of London and North Eastern Railway 4472 Flying Scotsman

Number

This should be the number of the locomotive:

Pennsylvania Railroad 1223

If the article is about two locomotives, separate the numbers with "and":

New York Central Railroad 1290 and 1291

Optional name

If a locomotive has a well-known individual name, include it in the title after the name:

LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman