car door
nounRail equipment
A door designed for use on a car (whether a railway carriage or an automobile).
Rail equipment
498 entries in this trade.
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.
carload
nounRail equipment
The quantity of goods that can be carried in a freight car.
carriage
nounRail equipment
Ellipsis of railway carriage (“a passenger railroad car, or any railroad car”).
carshop
nounRail equipment
A workshop for building and repairing railway carriages.
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.
CBI
nounRail equipment
Initialism of computer-based interlocking.
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
nounRail equipment
The area along either side of a railroad track which is kept at a lower level than the sleeper bottom, in order to provide drainage.
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.
chord
nounRail equipment
A section of subsidiary railway track that interconnects two primary tracks that cross at different levels, to permit traffic to flow between them.
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.
comby
adjectiveRail equipment
Of a wheel: having a defect consisting of a network of fine cracks covering a small area of the tread.
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
nounRail equipment
A railway carriage with compartments for two different classes of travel; see Composite Corridor.
composite carriage
nounRail equipment
A railway carriage with compartments of different classes.
compound
nounRail equipment
A compound locomotive, a steam locomotive with both high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.
consist
nounRail equipment
A lineup or sequence of railroad carriages or cars, with or without a locomotive, that form a unit.
contact shoe
nounRail equipment
A current collector on an electric train which is in contact with the live rail.
container flat
nounRail equipment
a flat wagon designed to carry international shipping containers.
container wagon
nounRail equipment
a flat wagon designed to carry international shipping containers.
cornfield meet
An accidental head-on collision or near head-on collision of two trains.
coupling rod
nounRail equipment
A rod that couples the driving wheels of a locomotive, a steam locomotive in particular, so that the driving wheels act together as a unit.
cowcatcher
nounRail equipment
A plough-shaped device affixed to the front of a locomotive (or other large vehicle), usually wedge or V-shaped so as to push or deflect objects on the tracks out of the way, to clear out the train's path and prevent the risk of derailment or major damage to it.
CPR
nameRail equipment
Initialism of Canadian Pacific Railway.
CR
nameRail equipment
Initialism of Caledonian Railway.
critter
nounRail equipment
A small locomotive used in an industrial setting.
cross junction
nounRail equipment
A location where two railroad tracks cross, without switches, as where different roads intersect.
cross-platform
adjectiveRail equipment
That takes place between two trains in different platforms, usually across an island platform.
cross-sill
nounRail equipment
A railroad sleeper lying under the rails transversely as a support to the stringer.
cross-tie
nounRail equipment
A sleeper supporting and connecting the rails, and holding them in place.
crossing keeper
nounRail equipment
A member of railway staff who looks after a level crossing.
CTC
nounRail equipment
Initialism of centralised/centralized traffic control.
cupola
a small viewing window in the top of the caboose for looking over the train, or the part of the caboose where one looks through this window.
DA
nameRail equipment
The station code of Dhaka railway station in Bangladesh.
dandy
nounRail equipment
A horse-drawn railway carriage used on some branch lines.
dandy cart
nounRail equipment
A wagon in which a horse could rest and travel downhill on a gravity-worked railway, before hauling wagons back up the incline.
danger
nounRail equipment
The stop indication of a signal (usually in the phrase "at danger").
danger signal
nounRail equipment
A signal set at danger and showing a red light or other stop indication, which a train driver must not pass until it changes or until manually cleared past the signal by a dispatcher.
dark territory
nounRail equipment
A section of railroad track not controlled by signals.
daycoach
nounRail equipment
A normal railway car with seats, but no sleeping arrangements.
DB
nameRail equipment
Initialism of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways). Previously used by its predecessor, Deutsche Bundesbahn.
de-electrify
verbRail equipment
To remove the electrification for powering electric trains from a railway.