Light rail is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit.
A railcar is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach, with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors".
A railroad car, railcar, railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck, also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport network. Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, form a train. Alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units.
A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow lower costs of operation, at the price of lower vehicle capacity.
In 1933, the Great Western Railway introduced the first of what was to become a successful series of diesel railcars, which survived in regular use into the 1960s, when they were replaced with the new British Rail "first generation" type diesel multiple units.
A draisine is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure.
A handcar is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a railway maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases.
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearly 90 years, hence the longest-lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.
A road–rail vehicle or a rail–road vehicle is a dual-mode vehicle which can operate both on rail tracks and roads. They are also known as two-way vehicles, hi-rail, and rail and road vehicles.
The Drewry Car Co. was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contractors.
The North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and safe, legal operation of railroad equipment historically used for maintenance of way purposes. The organization is primarily composed of those who own and operate a personal railcar speeder. NARCOA has around 1,400 members worldwide.
Railway platform height is the built height – above top of rail (ATR) – of passenger platforms at stations. A connected term is train floor height, which refers to the ATR height of the floor of rail vehicles. Worldwide, there are many, frequently incompatible, standards for platform heights and train floor heights. Where raised platforms are in use, train widths must also be compatible, in order to avoid both large gaps between platforms and trains and mechanical interference liable to cause equipment damage.
The Silver Lake Railroad is a heritage railway located in Madison, New Hampshire, USA.
The Red Terror was a four-wheel railcar built in 1934 and used by the general manager of New Zealand Railways, Garnet Mackley, for six years for inspections of the railway system, and to demonstrate the potential for using petrol- and diesel-powered railcars in New Zealand. The railcar could carry 7 people plus the driver. It was given the classification RM 1.
This article lists some of the terminology used at present and in the past by Australian railway employees, contractors, railway historians and railway enthusiasts. Many of the terms appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications.
The Wickham trolley was a railway engineering personnel carrier built by D. Wickham & Co of Ware, Hertfordshire. This long established firm introduced their rail trolley in 1922 as a lightweight track inspection and maintenance vehicle. This was a success and production of rail trolleys and railcars for inspection and maintenance continued until 1990.
In 1909 Frank E. Wade founded Fairmont Railway Motors of Fairmont, Minnesota, was a manufacturer of rail vehicles formed from the Fairmont Machine Company. In 1928 the company acquired Mudge and Company and in 1955, the railcar interests of the Fairbanks-Morse company. Fairmont merged with Harsco Corporation in 1979 to become part of Harsco Track Technologies. Fairmont products included:
A jeep train usually refers to a line of coupled railway vehicles hauled by a jeep fitted with railway wagon wheels instead of normal road wheels. World War II jeeps were converted from road vehicles into steel-wheeled rail switchers, shunters, light locomotives, speeders or draisines. The phrase was also used for supply trains consisting of jeeps and for columns of jeeps linked together and pulled through bad ground by tractors. Not all primary sources will use this phrase in the same way.
