Goods wagon

Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: goods cars or freight cars) are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types are in use to handle different types of goods, but all goods wagons in a regional network typically have standardized couplers and other fittings, such as hoses for air brakes, allowing different wagon types to be assembled into trains. For tracking and identification purposes, goods wagons are generally assigned a unique identifier, typically a UIC wagon number, or in North America, a company reporting mark plus a company specific serial number.

Development

At the beginning of the railway era, the vast majority of goods wagons were four-wheeled vehicles of simple construction. These were almost exclusively small covered wagons, open wagons with side-boards, and flat wagons with or without stakes. Over the course of time, an increasing number of specialised wagons were developed.

Special wagons for specific purposes or wagons with special features were already being introduced around 1850 by private companies. Amongst these were tank wagons and numerous refrigerated vans. In countries like Germany, wagon hire firms procured large numbers of these wagons and hired them to the end users.

Wagon

A wagon (also spelt waggon in British and Commonwealth English) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans (see below), used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies, and sometimes people. Wagons are distinguished from carts, which have two wheels, and from lighter four-wheeled vehicles primarily for carrying people, such as carriages.

Wagons are usually pulled by animals such as horses, mules or oxen. They may be pulled by one animal or by several, often in pairs or teams. However, there are examples of human propelled wagons, such as mining corfs.

A wagon was formerly often called a wain, hence one who builds or repairs wagons is a wainwright.

A person who drives wagons is called a "waggoner", a "teamster", a "bullocky", a "muleskinner", or simply a "driver".

Terminology and design

The exact name and terminology used is often dependent on the design or shape of the wagon. If low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float. When traveling over long distances and periods, wagons may be covered with cloth to protect their contents from the elements; these are "covered wagons". If it has a permanent top enclosing it, it may be called a "van".

Wagon (disambiguation)

A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle.

Wagon may also refer to:

Music

People with the surname

Wagon Automotive

Wagon Automotive is an automotive parts company based in Birmingham. The company is controlled by the American businessman Wilbur Ross and employs over 4,000 workers across Europe. Wagon has its roots in Wagon Repairs, a business set up at the end of the First World War to maintain railway rolling stock. It was chosen by Ross as the foundation for a European car parts empire.

References

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods, by way of wheeled vehicles running on rails.

It is also commonly referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Track usually consists of steel rails, installed on ties (sleepers) and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as slab track where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface.

Rolling stock in railway transport systems generally has lower frictional resistance when compared with highway vehicles and the passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway electrification system or produce their own power, usually by diesel engines. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system. Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. Railway transport is capable of high levels of passenger and cargo utilization and energy efficiency, but is often less flexible and more capital-intensive than highway transport is, when lower traffic levels are considered.

Railroad (disambiguation)

A railroad is a means of transport.

Railroad may also refer to:

Places in the United States

Other uses

See also

Railroad (song)

"Railroad" is the first solo single released by Maurice Gibb, best known as a member of the Bee Gees. It was released in April 1970, like the Bee Gees' songs from 1967 to 1972, the single was released by Polydor in most parts of the world while in the US and Canada it was released by Atco. In Canada it was also released by Atlantic and Cotillion. Gibb not release a follow-up single until 1984 when he released "Hold Her in Your Hand".

Background

"Railroad" was written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Lawrie was also the brother of Lulu, who Maurice married in 1969. Originally written for a Bee Gees album but never used. The single features guitar work by Leslie Harvey of Stone the Crows.

As Gibb explains: "People have said that my single sounds like the Bee Gees, I sang the higher parts usually, and the other vocal parts I've added to 'Railroad' could be the others." Gibb once said that his wife at that time, singer Lulu's reaction to the song that the piano is too loud on this single, so Gibb mixed it in six times to please her.