Rolling stock • Wagons and service vehicules
Note: this page is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for the official page of the operating company or manufacturer.
Railway terminology nowadays requires a distinction to be made between passenger carriages and freight wagons, which are the subject of this page. The UIC classification has reserved the first 4 letters A, B, C and D for passenger vehicles, with the rest, from E to Z, reserved for freight wagons.
The wagon is also a vehicle that predates the railway itself. According to some sources, the word appeared in English vocabulary as early as 1698. The French used it to mean ‘chariot’, before giving it a railway meaning, attested to in 1826.
In the early days of the railway, companies used only three categories of carriage, which can be broadly distinguished as follows:
- the gondola wagon (now type E), fitted with fixed walls, but uncovered and capable of being tarpaulin-covered, used to transport bulk materials, ballast, coal, ore, scrap metal, etc.
- the box wagon (now type G, H), for goods that needed to be protected from the weather, opening with sliding doors and fitted with ventilation openings; this wagon was used to transport all types of goods, packaged or not, as well as live animals;
- the flat wagon (now of type K, L, R or S, with or without sideboards (folding edges) or stakes, used to transport all types of goods that are not affected by the weather (but can be tarpaulin-covered), in particular rails, vehicles, logs, pipes, etc.
This simple presentation shows that the alphabet follows. However, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that other, more sophisticated wagons appeared, adapted to specific needs, such as for transporting cars or for the chemical industry. The result is an impressive catalogue with such a wide variety of types that it is difficult to be exhaustive.
Wagon of the futur
Since the 2000s, the rail freight wagon has been the subject of more advanced research to improve its main components, which until now have remained basic: brakes, coupling and modularity. 🟧
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