Abt system
nounRail equipment
A rail system used in mountainous terrain with multiple cograils.
Rail equipment
250 terms in this trade.
air line
nounRail equipment
A railroad following a very flat, straight route between two endpoints in order to minimize travel times, choosing the shortest, most direct route practical even if longer route that was more advantageous was available.
angle of attack
nounRail equipment
The angle between the plane of rotation of a wheel and the outer rail in the track curve.
aspect
nounRail equipment
The visual indication of railway signal as displayed to the driver. With three-aspect colour light signals this would be red, yellow or green, and on four-aspect signals, double-yellow also; a two-aspect signal displays red or green.
autoballaster
nounRail equipment
A type of ballast wagon, used to carry new ballast and then spread it along a section of railway track.
autocoach
nounRail equipment
An unpowered railway coach with a driving cab at one end, used in a push-pull train in conjunction with a locomotive or other powered vehicle.
automatic half-barrier level crossing
nounRail equipment
A level crossing with a single barrier on each side of the railway line, the barriers when lowered only block half of the road.
automatic train control
nounRail equipment
A train protection system that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver does not react to a signal at danger.
axle guard
nounRail equipment
The part of the framing of a railway car or truck by which an axle box is held laterally, and in which it may move vertically.
axle load
nounRail equipment
the total weight, including load carried, transferred by one axle and its wheels to a road or railway surface. This is especially important in relation to what weight road and railway structures can carry, bridges in particular.
axle loading
nounRail equipment
the weight placed on each axle of a vehicle.
baggage car
nounRail equipment
A railway vehicle in passenger trains used to carry passengers' heavy luggage; a luggage van.
ballast wagon
nounRail equipment
a hopper wagon used to carry ballast (stone) for railway track maintenance purposes.
banner repeater
nounRail equipment
A type of railway signal which shows the aspect of a signal ahead of it, normally used in a situation where the main signal is hidden from view, for instance where there is a curve in the track.
bar car
nounRail equipment
A railroad passenger car where drinks are served, typically with seating arranged around cocktail tables.
barrow crossing
nounRail equipment
A type of crossing found mainly in railway stations which allows passengers to cross between platforms at track level.
blind spot
nounRail equipment
The part of the railway/tramway track that cannot be seen in the side mirror or the side window.
block post
nounRail equipment
In signalling, a signal box at one end of a block section.
block section
nounRail equipment
In railway signalling, a section of track on which, in normal circumstances, only one train is allowed at one time.
block system
nounRail equipment
On railways, a system by which the track is divided into sections of three or four miles, and trains are run by the guidance of electric signals so that no train enters a section or block before the preceding train has left it.
bogie bolster wagon
nounRail equipment
A long flat wagon mounted on two four-wheel bogies, with transverse baulks of timber (bolsters) placed at intervals on the wagon's bed to carry the load.
booking lad
A young male employee in a signal box who records the movement of trains past the box.
box van
nounRail equipment
An enclosed railway goods wagon, typically with a sliding door.
brake van
A railway vehicle used to brake a (goods) train, usually placed at the end of the train. These were essential before continuous train braking became universal.
branch line
nounRail equipment
A secondary railroad route or one subsidiary to a railroad's mainlines.
break of gauge
nounRail equipment
an occurrence where a railway with one track gauge meets another railway of a different gauge, thus requiring transhipment of goods and passengers, or a change of bogies on the train.
bridge route
nounRail equipment
a railroad which provides a link from one major carrier (railroad) to another.
buffer up
verbRail equipment
To move (a rail vehicle) so that its buffers are touching the buffers of another rail vehicle.
buffet car
nounRail equipment
A railway carriage in which food and drink can be bought at a counter, and either taken to another carriage or consumed at the seating provided.
bullhead rail
nounRail equipment
A type of rail, most commonly used in the United Kingdom (now obsolescent), with a head and foot similar in cross-section, that is supported in cast-iron chairs and secured in the chairs by wooden wedges (known as "keys") or steel springs.
cab forward
nounRail equipment
a design of steam locomotive with the cab at the front, mainly built for the Southern Pacific Railroad, which at one time had a large fleet of oil-fired articulated locomotives.
cab signalling
nounRail equipment
A rail safety system installed in the driving cab of a train, which gives information to the train driver on track status and condition.
cab unit
nounRail equipment
A diesel or electric locomotive with a full-width body for its entire length.
car
nounRail equipment
Any vehicle designed to run on rails, especially an unpowered one towed by being connected to others.
car body
nounRail equipment
The body of a rail vehicle called a car.
car door
nounRail equipment
A door designed for use on a car (whether a railway carriage or an automobile).
car mile
nounRail equipment
A mile travelled by a single railway car, taken as a unit of computation, as in computing the average travel of each car of a system during a given period.
car mileage
nounRail equipment
The amount paid by one railroad for the use of cars of another railroad.
car shed
nounRail equipment
A large building provided for the housing and maintenance of passenger cars or carriages (or coupled trains thereof).
car-sleeper
nounRail equipment
A sleeping car train which also includes vehicles for carrying passengers' motor cars.
catch points
nounRail equipment
A set of points provided to derail rail vehicles out of control on a steep gradient.
cattle dock
A pen on a platform in a railway goods yard for cattle travelling by rail.
cattle wagon
nounRail equipment
a covered or uncovered goods wagon (mostly formerly) used for the transportation of live cattle.
centralised traffic control
nounRail equipment
A form of railway signalling that does away with intermediate signallers over a long stretch of track, often single track with loops where trains can pass each other, by remote control from one location.
cess path
nounRail equipment
Path running along the cess next to a railway line.
chair
nounRail equipment
A cast-iron component used on railways to support bullhead rails and secure them to the sleepers.
chair car
A railway car equipped with reclining armchairs, for passengers travelling at night who do not wish to ride in a sleeping car.
check rail
nounRail equipment
A rail laid parallel to a running rail to guide wheels through points, rail crossings, and round curves, to reduce wear and the risk of derailments such as those due to flange climb.
classification yard
nounRail equipment
a railroad yard where incoming freight trains are sorted into various sidings.
club car
A railroad car that serves in the manner of a club (lounge), offering drinks, snacks, background music, and sometimes meals.
coach
nounRail equipment
A passenger car, either drawn by a locomotive or part of a multiple unit.
coaching stock
nounRail equipment
passenger-carrying railway coaches or (less commonly) multiple units. Contrasted with locomotives, freight wagons and engineering vehicles.
coaling plant
A tall structure provided at a locomotive depot to supply coal to steam locomotives.
coaling stage
nounRail equipment
A structure, which took various forms, used to supply coal to steam locomotives.
coaling tower
nounRail equipment
A tall structure formerly used to supply coal to steam locomotives.
collector shoe
nounRail equipment
A current collector on an electric train or locomotive which is in contact with the live rail.
colour light signal
nounRail equipment
An electric railway signal with colour aspects, showing either red or green in a 2-aspect signal, with the addition of a yellow or double yellow aspect (meaning caution) in 3- and 4-aspect signals.
combination car
nounRail equipment
A railroad car containing two or more compartments used for different purposes, transporting passengers and freight.
commuter rail
nounRail equipment
A rail transport system with trains used to transport commuters between two places, typically their homes and works, normally within a metropolitan area and its surrounding environs, and generally distinguished from other rail transport systems (i.e. subways, metros, tramways) by having less frequent service, lacking free transfers between trains and using heavy rolling stock running on a mainline railway
composite carriage
nounRail equipment
A railway carriage with compartments of different classes.