Wikipedia:Naming conventions (locomotives)

This page documents a proposed naming convention for locomotives.

Naming articles after the operator

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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

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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

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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