What is the part of a train called...?

Question

that carries cargo? The 'carriage' type things that are just flat bases and you can stack things on them, they can carry tanks etc?

Answer 1

Not sure anywere else but in the UK they are called wagons and the ones were passengers traval areknown as carriages. Wagons can carry many things but in he UK, Coal, steel, shipping containers and oil are moved  in wagons.

Answer 2

Flatcars

but like everythign else in railroading it can be very complicated very fast.

There are basic flatcars with modifications to carry almost anything you can think of, they are probably the most versatile of all the railroad cars out there.

With special holdown devices they can carry tanks as you noticed, they can carry semi truck trailers, or specialized containers. I've seen massive blades to windmills on flatcars, construction machinery, steel boxes for mining ore, lumber, pipe, steel, the list is almost endless.

We handle entire Boeing 737 fuselages on special flatcars, (minus the wings of course)

Answer 3

the individual "cars"

like the tanker(for liquids and gases),box car(utility),and flatcar (for oddly shaped or bulky loads)

each have a distict name

Answer 4

In Britain we call them wagons, in the USA/Canada they are cars.

There are many different types for different uses, starting with flat-bed wagons for containers, road vehicles, heavy machinery etc., then open wagons for minerals, hopper wagons which have a higher capacity and are much used for bulk loads, tank wagons for carrying bulk liquids and so on.

Specialised wagons are built for carrying loads of steel, timber, prestressed concrete and other materials.

Then there are a whole host of wagons that the railways use for trackbuilding and maintenance, including complete trains that can carry rail to its destination, lay it, provide power and equipment for the welders and other staff, and so on.

In the USA where the loading gauge (the maximum height allowed for trains and the freight they carry) is higher the containers are stacked double and there is also a system similar to that used in Europe called 'piggy-back' where trucks can be taken part of their journey on a wagon called a 'rolling road'.

Answer 5

Flatbeds

Answer 6

Flatcar