page_title: Glossary of United Kingdom railway terms
section_title: C
hierarchical_section_title: Glossary of United Kingdom railway terms / C
caption_attribution_description: English: A Modern Cess located on the London Underground - the cess being the area between the edge of the ballast and the cable poles on the left.
context_page_description: This page contains a list of jargon used to varying degrees by railfans, trainspotters, and railway employees in the United Kingdom, including nicknames for various locomotives and multiple units. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. There may be significant regional variation in usage.
context_section_description: Cant
  The superelevation angle of a track (the relative level of one rail to the other), typically around a curve
  Cape
  A British Railways telegraphic codeword to note the cancellation of a passenger train service
  Car transporter wagon or car transporter van
  A specialized freight car for transporting automobiles
  Cat
  A British Rail Class 68 diesel-electric locomotive
  Cess
  The area either side of the railway immediately off the ballast shoulder which provides a safe area for workers to stand when trains approach
  Chair
  A cast iron bracket screwed to the sleeper and used to support bull head rail that is held in place by a wooden key (wedge) or spring steel clip—still found on preserved railways and in yards
  Check rail
  A double rail section of track, sometimes found in train yards and on bridges to prevent derailments or limit damage caused by derailments, by having rail on both sides of the wheel flange. Also found on curves with a tight radius and switches and crossings
  Chimney, funnel, or stack
  A smokestack
  Chopper
  British Rail Class 20 diesel-electric locomotive
  Chord
  A curve connecting two otherwise-unconnected rail lines that lie at tangents to that curve (Usually both lines are straight, one being at a higher level than the other.)
  Clag
  Originally used to describe the exhaust of steam locomotives, "clag" is a term describing the often spectacular (particularly blackened, as in Class 37, or whitesmoked, as in Class 55) exhaust emissions of many older British diesel locomotives, especially, Classes 52 and 55.
  Coach
  Railway vehicle for use in passenger trains
  Coffee pot
  Applied to the shape of SR Q1 class steam locomotives
  Composite
  A passenger car with more than one class of accommodation provided (e.g. first and third). In earlier days of three-class travel, first and second class, and second and third class composites were also built. A car with first, second, and third classes was also known as a tri-composite.
  Connecting rod
  The drive rod connecting the crosshead to a driving-wheel or axle in a steam locomotive
  Coupling (UK)
  The mechanical connector at either end of a railway carriage allowing it to couple together with other carriages to form a train
  Crompton
  British Rail Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive (fitted with Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment). See also Slim Jim.
caption: A cess along the London Underground
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