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red rattler
noun (formerly) a train with dark red carriages, noted for the discomfort it caused to passengers. Compare blue rattler, silver rattler.
Contributor's comments: [Adelaide informant] We have old red trains referred to as "Red hens" - must be similar??
Contributor's comments: The interurban trains in the Hunter Valley: "I grabbed a red rattler to Dungog."
Contributor's comments: The term red rattler referred to the old suburban trains used in Sydney and finally replaced by trains with automatically closing doors in the last 10 years or so. They were drafty, very noisy and uncomfortable and quite dangerous because commuters could topple from the open doors when the train was moving. Thankfully the red rattler has now been replaced.
Contributor's comments: I guess the newer trains are safer - but I wistfully remember the red rattlers when I was a schoolkid. The open doors meant that you could hang out in the wind when travelling at terrific speed (very thrilling); you could spit on things (boys!); and you could jump onto the train as it was pulling out (death-defyingly reckless I suppose, but it was tops fun as a kid). Some of the older carriages had compartments off a corridor with sliding doors, dreary landscape pictures above the seats and converted gaslight fittings. What were these called? Red Rattlers too?
Contributor's comments: Contrary to an earlier entry, the Sydney red rattlers were not the carriages replace 10 years ago. The actual red rattlers were an earlier model of carriage which I haven't seen for about 25 years. They had dual windows - one glass, the other a louvred sun window - which slid vertically, like older wooden house windows. Because the windows hung down in sliding tracks, they used to rattle very loudly when the train moved.
Contributor's comments: I agree/feel sure that the "rattle" was to do with sound, not general comfort: the older carriages had deep upholstery and sometimes nice wooden armrests - I favoured them.
Contributor's comments: Although nearly all replaced, what I call the red rattlers, the red diesel trains that run between Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, are still going. They have those heaters in the winter up high that do absolutely nothing unless you are sitting in the first seat underneath.
Contributor's comments: In Melbourne, 'red rattler' was another name for the Tait trains, which first entered service in the late 1910s, and were known for their open doors and loud noise during travel. I have also heard the name adapted to describe other old trains in Melbourne: the 1950s Harris trains were 'blue rattlers', while the 1970s Hitachi/Silver trains have been called 'silver rattlers'.