Education - Part 5
Rolling Stock
Introduction
Rolling stock or railroad cars (as opposed to railcars) come in two basic kinds, powered and unpowered. The powered kind are usually called locomotives (engines, power units) and are designed and built to move a group of unpowered cars called wagons or carriages, thereby forming a train.
Why wagon or carriage? Because in the early days of railroading, unpowered cars were actually existing wagons or carriages of various kinds, fitted with flanged wheels gauged to run on rails. We will have much more to say about unpowered railroad cars in a bit.
What Runs on the Rails?
Vehicles of various kinds and purposes, called, collectively, rolling stock, operate on the rails of a railroad. Most of these vehicles, called railroad cars, are unpowered. In order for unpowered vehicles to move from source to destination, they must be pulled or pushed by vehicles that provide motive power. In very early times motive power was supplied by gravity, by horses or oxen, or by people. Today, such power is supplied by vehicles called locomotives (sometimes engines) that derive their energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, wind, hydroelectric or other sources.
If the unpowered vehicles or railroad cars carry freight or goods, they are likely to be pulled/pushed by diesel-electric locomotives, although in some parts of the world, steam power is still in use (but in steady decline).
If the unpowered railroad cars carry passengers they may be pulled or pushed by electric locomotives, except on long runs where infrastructure costs still favor diesel-electric motive power.
In general, railroad cars that carry freight or passengers are classified as revenue-producing rolling stock. Motive power is not, of itself, revenue producing, nor is maintenance-of-way (MOW) stock.
Rolling stock will be discussed in the following sections:
Vehicles of various kinds and purposes, called, collectively, rolling stock, operate on the rails of a railroad. Most of these vehicles, called railroad cars, are unpowered. In order for unpowered vehicles to move from source to destination, they must be pulled or pushed by vehicles that provide motive power. In very early times motive power was supplied by gravity, by horses or oxen, or by people. Today, such power is supplied by vehicles called locomotives (sometimes engines) that derive their energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, wind, hydroelectric or other sources.
If the unpowered vehicles or railroad cars carry freight or goods, they are likely to be pulled/pushed by diesel-electric locomotives, although in some parts of the world, steam power is still in use (but in steady decline).
If the unpowered railroad cars carry passengers they may be pulled or pushed by electric locomotives, except on long runs where infrastructure costs still favor diesel-electric motive power.
In general, railroad cars that carry freight or passengers are classified as revenue-producing rolling stock. Motive power is not, of itself, revenue producing, nor is maintenance-of-way (MOW) stock.
Rolling stock will be discussed in the following sections: