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Railroad car

Vehicle used for carrying cargo or passengers on a rail transport system

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Restored Barney and Smith Car Company passenger cars on display at the Mid Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom
Sean Lamb ( en:User:Slambo ) · CC BY-SA 2.0

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Lab · Class 9–11Momentum & Collisions

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, though the term has other 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 – for track maintenance purposes, for example – most carry a revenue-earning load of passengers or freight, and may be classified accordingly as passenger cars or coaches on the one hand or freight cars (or wagons) on the other.

Passenger cars

Passenger cars, or coaches, vary in their internal fittings:

In standard-gauge railway cars, seating is usually arranged in rows of three to five seats across the width of the car, with an aisle between (resulting in 2+1, 2+2, or 3+2 seat arrangements) 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.

  • If the aisle is located between seats, seat rows may face the same direction, or be grouped, with twin rows facing each other.
  • In some vehicles intended for commuter services, seats are positioned with their backs to the side walls, either on one side or more commonly on both, facing each other across the aisle. This gives a wide accessway and allows room for standing passengers at peak times, as well as improving loading and unloading speeds.
  • If the aisle is on the side, the car is usually divided into small compartments. These usually contain six seats, although sometimes in second class they contain eight, and sometimes in first class they contain four.

Passenger cars can take the electricity supply for heating and lighting equipment from either of two main sources: directly from a head-end power generator on the locomotive via bus cables, or by an axle-powered generator which continuously charges batteries whenever the train is in motion.

Modern cars usually have either air conditioning or windows that can be opened (sometimes, for safety, not so far that one can hang out), or sometimes both. Various types of onboard train toilet facilities may also be provided.

Other types of passenger cars exist, especially for long journeys, such as the dining car, parlor car, disco car, and, in rare cases, theater and movie theater cars. 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 of dome 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 are outfitted with (generally) small bedrooms, allowing passengers to sleep through their night-time trips, while couchette cars provide more basic sleeping accommodation. Long-distance trains often require baggage 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 out of favor in the 1960s and 1970s, partly because open coaches were considered more secure for women traveling alone.

Another distinction is between single- and double-deck train cars. An example of a double-decker is the Amtrak 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 from one or more of these 'sets', coupled as needed to meet the train's capacity.

Often, but not always, passenger cars in a train are linked together with enclosed, flexible gangway connections through which passengers and crew members 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 employ tightlock couplings to keep a train together in the event of a derailment or other accident.

Many multiple unit trains consist of cars that are semi-permanently coupled into sets; these sets may be joined to form larger trains, but passengers can generally move only between cars within a set. This "closed" arrangement keeps parties of travelers and their luggage together, and hence allows the separate sets to be easily split so they can go their separate ways. Some multiple-unit trainsets are designed so that corridor connections can be easily opened between coupled sets; this generally requires driving cabs to be either set to the side or (as in the Dutch Koploper or the Japanese 285 series) mounted above the passenger compartment. These cabs or driving trailers are also useful for quickly reversing the train.

First- and second-class carriages

It has been common in some systems to differentiate between first- and second-class carriages, with a premium being paid for first-class tickets, and fines imposed for non-compliance. Facilities and appurtenances applying to first-class carriages may include

  • Lounge-type seats, improved upholstery, and additional hip- and leg-room
  • Reading lamps, double-glazing, sound treatment
  • Removable tables and seating are amenable to card games
  • Choice of smoking and non-smoking compartments

More recently, mains power outlets and Wi-fi facilities have been offered.

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