Railroad car

A railroad car, railcar , railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (<a href="/facts/British_English/ymJR5Rnd">British English</a> and <a href="/facts/International_Union_of_Railways/oSlgdIJk">UIC</a>), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a <a href="/facts/Vehicle/jSIEqANL">vehicle</a> used for the carrying of <a href="/facts/Cargo/0aDk22Yl">cargo</a> or <a href="/facts/Passenger/ToMPuxdY">passengers</a> on a <a href="/facts/Rail_transport/9nJQbsDV">rail transport</a> network (a railroad/railway). Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more <a href="/facts/Locomotive/C9YV7wrQ">locomotives</a>, form a <a href="/facts/Train/0mkFQDg9">train</a>. Alternatively, some <a href="/facts/Passenger_railroad_car/R5HDppQ6">passenger cars</a> are self-propelled in which case they may be either single <a href="/facts/Railcar/8WCtLGNc">railcars</a> or make up <a href="/facts/Multiple_unit/lu1AD7C7">multiple units</a>.
The term "car" is commonly used by itself in American English when a rail context is implicit. <a href="/facts/Indian_English/LW2DcJGE">Indian English</a> sometimes uses "bogie" in the same manner, though the term has <a href="/facts/Bogie/Q5060jts">other meanings</a> in other variants of English. In American English, "railcar" is a generic term for a railway vehicle; in other countries "<a href="/facts/Railcar/8WCtLGNc">railcar</a>" refers specifically to a self-propelled, powered, railway vehicle.
Although some cars exist for the railroad's own use – for <a href="/facts/Track_(rail_transport)/erncmXfX">track maintenance</a> purposes, for example – most carry a revenue-earning load of passengers or freight, and may be classified accordingly as passenger cars or <a href="/facts/Coach_(rail)/R5HDppQ6">coaches</a> on the one hand or <a href="/facts/Freight_car/4XBU36LV">freight cars</a> (or wagons) on the other.

Railroad car open-in-new

Railroad car