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A railroad car,railcar (American andCanadian English),[a]railway wagon,railway carriage,railway truck,railwagon,railcarriage orrailtruck (British English andUIC), also called atrain car,train wagon,train carriage ortrain truck, is avehicle used for the carrying ofcargo orpassengers on arail transport network (a railroad/railway). Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or morelocomotives, form atrain. Alternatively, somepassenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either singlerailcars or make upmultiple units.
The term "car" is commonly used by itself in American English when a rail context is implicit.Indian English sometimes uses "bogie" in the same manner,[1] though the term hasother meanings in other variants of English. In American English, "railcar" is a generic term for a railway vehicle; in other countries "railcar" refers specifically to a self-propelled, powered, railway vehicle.
Although some cars exist for the railroad's own use – fortrack maintenance purposes, for example – most carry a revenue-earning load of passengers or freight, and may be classified accordingly as passenger cars orcoaches on the one hand orfreight cars (orwagons) on the other.
Passenger cars, orcoaches, vary in their internal fittings:
Instandard-gauge railway cars, seating is usually configured into ranges from three to five seats across the width of the car, with an aisle in between (resulting in arrangements of 2+1, 2+2 or 3+2 seats) or at the side. Tables may be provided between seats facing one another. Alternatively, seats facing in the same direction may have access to a fold-down ledge on the back of the seat in front.
Passenger cars can take the electricity supply for heating and lighting equipment from either of two main sources: directly from ahead-end power generator on thelocomotive via bus cables, or by an axle-powered generator which continuously charges batteries whenever the train is in motion.
Modern cars usually have eitherair conditioning or windows that can be opened (sometimes, for safety, not so far that one can hang out), or sometimes both. Various types ofonboard train toilet facilities may also be provided.
Other types of passenger car exist, especially for long journeys, such as thedining car,parlor car,disco car, and in rare casestheater andmovie theater car. In some cases another type of car is temporarily converted to one of these for an event.
Observation cars were built for the rear of many famous trains to allow the passengers to view the scenery. These proved popular, leading to the development ofdome cars multiple units of which could be placed mid-train, and featured a glass-enclosed upper level extending above the normal roof to provide passengers with a better view.
Sleeping cars outfitted with (generally) small bedrooms allow passengers to sleep through their night-time trips, whilecouchette cars provide more basic sleeping accommodation. Long-distance trains often requirebaggage cars for the passengers' luggage. In European practice it used to be common for day coaches to be formed of compartments seating 6 or 8 passengers, with access from a side corridor. In the UK, Corridor coaches fell into disfavor in the 1960s and 1970s partially because open coaches are considered more secure by women traveling alone.[citation needed]
Another distinction is between single- and double decktrain cars. An example of adouble decker is theAmtrak superliner.
A "trainset" (or "set") is a semi-permanently arranged formation of cars, rather than one created "ad hoc" out of whatever cars are available. These are only broken up and reshuffled 'on shed' (in the maintenance depot). Trains are then built of one or more of these 'sets' coupled together as needed for the capacity of that train.
Often, but not always, passenger cars in a train are linked together with enclosed, flexiblegangway connections through which passengers and crewmen can walk. Some designs incorporate semi-permanent connections between cars and may have a full-width connection, effectively making them one long, articulated 'car'. In North America, passenger cars also employtightlock couplings to keep a train together in the event of a derailment or other accident.
Manymultiple unit trains consist of cars which are semi-permanently coupled into sets: these sets may be joined together to form larger trains, but generally passengers can only move around between cars within a set. This "closed" arrangement keeps parties of travellers and their luggage together, and hence allows the separate sets to be easily split to go separate ways. Some multiple-unit trainsets are designed so that corridor connections can be easily opened between coupled sets; this generally requires driving cabs either set to the side or (as in the DutchKoploper or the Japanese285 series) above the passenger compartment. These cabs ordriving trailers are also useful for quickly reversing the train.
It has been common in some systems to differentiate between first- and second-class carriages, with a premium being paid for first-class tickets,[2] and fines imposed for non-compliance.[3] Facilities and appurtenances applying to first-class carriages may include
More recently, mains power outlets and Wi-fi facilities have been offered.[5]
Freight cars (US/Canada),goods wagons (UIC), or trucks (UK) exist in a wide variety of types, adapted to carry a host of goods. Originally there were very few types of cars; the flat car or wagon, and theboxcar (US/Canada),covered wagon (UIC) orvan (UK), were among the first.
Freight cars or goods wagons are generally categorized as follows:
The first two main-line all aluminum passenger cars were exhibited at the 1933-35Chicago World's Fair byPullman Company.[9] Aluminum freight cars have a higher net-to-tare ratio of 4.9 than traditional steel based wagons, which have 3.65.[10]
Non-revenue cars are those that do not derive income for the railroad. They include:
Militaryarmoured trains use several types of specialized cars:
During theCold War, theSoviet Union fielded a number of trains that served as mobilemissile silos. These trains carried the missile and everything necessary to launch, and were kept moving around the railway network to make them difficult to find and destroy in afirst-strike attack. A similar rail-borne system was proposed in theUnited States of America for theLGM-30 Minuteman in the 1960s, and thePeacekeeper Rail Garrison in the 1980s, but neither were deployed.[13]
TheStrategic Air Command's1st Combat Evaluation RBS "Express" deployed fromBarksdale Air Force Base withRadar Bomb Scoring units mounted on military railroad cars with supporting equipment, to scoresimulatedthermonuclear bombing ofcities in thecontinental United States.[14]
A special SAC task force was established at Hill AFB, Utah, to conduct a series of deployments with a Minuteman Mobility Test Train. The first deployment ended June 27 after seven days of random travel over existing civilian rail facilities in the Ogden area. The test series will continue through the fall of 1960 with other rail movements in the Far West and Midwest.
The trains were 21 cars long, 17 support and 4 radar cars. The radar cars were basically flat cars with the radar vans and equipment mounted on them. The other 17 consisted of a generator car, two box cars (one for radar equipment maintenance, and one for support maintenance). A dining car, two day-room cars, supply cars, admin car, and 4 Pullman sleepers.... The Commander had the very last room on the tail of the train.... The trains would go to some area in the U.S. which was selected for that period by a regular contracted locomotive which then just parked us there and left, usually pulled onto a siding.
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