![ТСВ-6А](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/%D0%A2%D0%A1%D0%92-6%D0%90.jpg)
Open wagons (trucks in the UK) form a large group of railway
goods wagons
Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon type ...
designed primarily for the transportation of
bulk goods
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...
that are not moisture-retentive and can usually be tipped, dumped or shovelled. The
International Union of Railways (UIC) distinguishes between
ordinary wagons (
Class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
E/
UIC-type 5) and
special wagons (F/6). Open wagons often form a significant part of a railway company's goods wagon fleet; for example, forming just under 40% of the
Deutsche Bahn's total goods wagon stock in Germany.
UIC standard goods wagons
Since the 1960s, the majority of goods wagons procured by European railway administrations have been built to standards laid down by, or based on, those established by the
UIC. In addition to open wagons the table also shows
wagons with opening roofs (Class T), whose design is based on open wagons.
File:El-Wagen-UIC-Bauart1-Zittau.jpg, Twin-axled UIC Type 1 open wagon, used as an ash wagon, on a transporter wagon
A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon ( UIC) or railroad car (US) designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge. In most cases, a transporter wagon is a n ...
in Zittau
Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...
File:Es-Wagen-UIC-Bauart2-Raspenava.jpg, A Czech ( ČD) twin-axled open wagon of UIC Type 2 in Raspenava
Class E – Ordinary open high-sided wagons
![DB-Eanos31805377769-0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/DB-Eanos31805377769-0.JPG)
These wagons have a level floor and solid sides with at least one door on each side. They are mainly used for transporting bulk goods,
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
,
scrap,
steel,
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
and
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
. The majority of wagons have folding sides and end walls, otherwise they are given the letters ''l'' (fixed sides) or ''o'' (fixed end walls). Wagons may have one or two folding end walls.
Steel rings enable ropes, nets or covers to be attached to secure the load.
Some of these wagons can also be completely tipped over, in other words, at certain places they can be lifted up and emptied by being turned about their longitudinal axis. This requires a very robust underframe. Sometimes the wagons are fitted with rotatable couplings so that they do not have to be individually uncoupled.
In 1998 the
DB had about 16,000 four-axle Class E wagons. They have increasingly retired their twin-axled E wagons since the 1990s and they are now rarely seen.
Class F – Special open high-sided wagons
The majority of these are self-discharging wagons which use
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
-unloading (
hopper car
A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with ...
s and saddle-bottomed wagons), but in addition there are also:
* Side-tipping wagons (box tip, trough-tip or side-tip wagon),
* Bucket wagon, other open wagons without side doors
In 1998, the Deutsche Bahn had about 12,000 hopper wagons, 10,000 saddle-bottomed wagons and 1,000 side-tipping wagons. In addition to hopper and saddle-bottomed wagons there were also
wagons with opening roofs.
Typical loads for these wagons are all sorts of bulk goods, like coal, coke, ore, sand or gravel. Because bulk goods are often moved in large quantities, these wagons are frequently used in so-called
unit or block trains that only comprise one type of wagon and only shift one type of product from the dispatcher to the recipient.
Hopper wagons
Hopper wagons can only be unloaded by gravity with no external assistance and are therefore also classed as self-discharging wagons. The majority may be filled, when at rail or road level, by high-level discharge chutes (whose ends are more than 70 cm above the top of the rails) or
conveyor belts
A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...
. Because a controlled amount of the load can be discharged at any place the wagons may be sent anywhere and are even used individually. Railway companies also use hoppers as
departmental wagons Departmental vehicles, also called departmental wagons or engineering vehicles, are special railway vehicles used to support the engineering functions of the railway.Ellis, Iain (2006). ''Ellis' British Railway Engineering Encyclopaedia''. Lulu, p. ...
in
maintenance of way
Maintenance of way (commonly abbreviated to MOW) refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infrastructure such as signals and signs.
Track
The most fundamen ...
trains for ballasting the track.
Since the 1990s there has been a trend for new hopper wagons to be built as bogie wagons which have not yet been standardised by the
UIC.
Gallery
File:Selbstentladewagen-Fccs6450-Ansicht.JPG , Fccs hopper of the ITL railways
File:Selbstentladewagen-Fccs6450-Stirnseite.jpg , Funnel-shaped wagon floor
File:Selbstentladewagen-Fccs6450-Mechanik.jpg , Controllable discharge equipment
File:Selbstentladewagen-Fccs-Axle.jpg , Wheelset and brake rods
File:Selbstentladewagen-Fccs6450-Radsatz.jpg , Axle boxes and double-shackle running gear
File:Iron ore hopper (SJ, 1900).JPG, Swedish iron ore hopper (mineral wagon
A mineral wagon or coal truck (British English) is a small open-topped railway goods wagon used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to carry coal, ores and other mine products.
Background
When the railways originated in the United Kingdom, th ...
), built in 1900
File:Вагон.jpg, Kambarka Engineering Works
Kambarka Engineering Works - Full name: Open Joint Stock Company «Kambarka Engineering Works» (russian: КМЗ or ). A rolling stock manufacturer, located in the city of Kambarka ( Udmurt), Russia.
History of the Factory
Construction of an ...
hopper car to transport track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties (sleepers) are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the load from the railroad ties, to facilitate drainage of water, and also to keep down veget ...
, gauge
File:Fcs 092.jpg, Fcs092:Open wagon with controllable self-discharge equipment and high chute (hopper wagon)
Saddle-bottomed wagons
![Falns-in-Horka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Falns-in-Horka.jpg)
Saddle-bottomed wagons are large-volume hoppers are exclusively unloaded by gravity and are therefore classed as self-discharging hoppers. Unlike normal hopper wagons, however, their discharge cannot be controlled and the entire load must be dropped. To unload the flaps on the side swing out allowing the load to empty. This is aided by the floor which slopes downwards on both sides like a
gable roof. The discharging chutes on either side are relatively high up. These wagons are frequently seen in
unit trains
A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route.
They are disti ...
for transporting bulk goods such as
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
or mineral
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
from mines or ports to
steelworks or
power stations
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many po ...
.
The most modern type of four axle saddle-bottomed wagon in the DB is the four axle Falns 121 with a loading volume of . It was built from 1992 in several batches. By February 2008 another 100 of these wagons were to have been delivered to the DB and another 300 by 2010. These latest wagons will have an
axle load
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearin ...
of and an
unladen weight of no more than , resulting in a load limit of .
Side-tipping wagons
Side-tipping wagons have
hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...
,
pneumatic or
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
tipping equipment, that enables the wagon body to be lifted on one side. Depending on the design, they may be tipped to both sides or just one side only. In order to prevent wagons from falling over during the tipping operation, some are equipped with track pinch bars with which they can be securely anchored to the trackbed. These wagons are often seen in
unit trains
A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route.
They are disti ...
being used to remove excavated material from major construction sites.
File:Seitenkipper-Ua4201-Ansicht.jpg , A Czech ( ČD) side tipper
File:Seitenkipper-Ua4201-Schriftfeld.jpg , The ČD groups these wagons into Class Ua
File:Seitenkipper-Ua4201-Stirnseite.jpg , The tipping system can be seen from the end
File:Seitenkipper-Ua4201-Drehgestell.jpg , US style bogie on a side-tipping wagon
File:Seitenkipper-Ua4201-Zugeinrichtung.jpg , Coupling
A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...
and main air pipe on a side-tipping wagon
Specialized wagons
Lorry or mine car
![30-cu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/30-cu.ft.Minecar.jpg)
A ''lorry'' or ''mine car'' is an open railroad car (
gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
) with a tipping trough, used in
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
. It is known in the UK as a ''tippler'' or ''
chaldron
A chaldron (also chauldron or chalder) was an English measure of dry volume, mostly used for coal; the word itself is an obsolete spelling of cauldron. It was used from the 13th century onwards, nominally until 1963, when it was abolished by th ...
wagon'', and in the US as a ''
mine car
In US railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-topped rail vehicle used for transporting loose bulk materials. Because of their low side walls, gondolas are also suitable for the carriage of such high-density cargos as steel plates or coils, ...
''.
Chaldrons
![Wooden coal truck - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Wooden_coal_truck_-_geograph.org.uk_-_685590.jpg)
The first railway bulk-cargo gondolas, the first freight wagons, were the chaldron cars of the early coal-carrying
plateway
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of "L"-shaped rails, where the flange ...
s. These were relatively short in length and tall in proportion, with a tapered body that widened upwards, above the wheels. Once locomotive haulage began, the unstable and top-heavy nature of this design became a problem with increasing speeds and later wagons became lower and longer. The chaldron shape survived in a few cases, such as low-speed working around a large factory sites including steelworks.
Modalohr road trailer carriers
Modalohrs are specialized
wagons
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
for carrying
road trailers and
road tractors on the
AFF route from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and vice versa; there are plans to expand this service. A deck between the
bogies (trucks)
pivots (swings) 30°, allowing the trailers to be loaded from the sides. The cars are built by
Lohr Industrie
Lohr Industrie is a French manufacturer. With a track record in the manufacture of high-tech car transporter systems (primarily for road haulage), this manufacturer has developed the Translohr tram cars and Modalohr road/rail transfer system, an ...
.
Intermodal open wagons
File:Banbury box car 2001 1st.png, A Tiphook rail
Tiphook PLC was a United Kingdom headquartered transport services company, registered on the London and New York stock markets, which became the world's second largest marine container leasing business in the 1990s. The Company was once a const ...
intermodal freight
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...
well car
A well car, also known as a double-stack car (or also intermodal car/container car), is a type of railroad car specially designed to carry intermodal containers (shipping containers) used in intermodal freight transport. The "well" is a depresse ...
at Banbury station in the UK in 2001
File:Sdgmns743 sketch.png, A pocket wagon
A pocket wagon is a freight wagon that has been specially designed for the transport of truck semi-trailers. This wagon belongs to the group of flat wagons in special design with bogies and is used in combined transport (CT). The name of these fr ...
File:83854933052-3.jpg, Special wagon of Hupac
Hupac is a railway company in Switzerland. Hupac's Shuttle Net has 110 intermodal trains per day across Europe. Hupac also offers a rolling highway from Basel to Lugano. In 2009, volumes carried fell by 13.5%, to 607,284 road shipments; but pro ...
for Semi-trailer
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer.
A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...
s
File:HUA-168077-Afbeelding van enkele opleggers van vrachtauto's op speciale wagons van de S.N.C.F. (z.g. Kangourou- of Huckepack-vervoer), op het terrein van de Veilinghaven te Utrecht, bedoeld voor een tentoonstell.jpg, Semi-trailer
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer.
A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...
on a Kangourou wagon
The '' 'kangaroo wagon' '' is a type of wagon rail designed for the transport of semi-trailers. It has a drawbridge forming a pocket in the low position (hence its name) allowing the carrier train (2 or 3 axles) of the semi-trailer to be placed ...
Piggyback transport in the 60s, video in French
/ref>
See also
*
Austauschbauart
The so-called ''Austauschbauart'' wagons were German railway vehicles produced from the late 1920s onwards which had common components built to agreed standards.
Origin of the concept
The German term ''Austauschbau'' ('interchangeable component ma ...
*
Class U special wagon
The International Union of Railways groups all special classes of railway goods wagon (less those in classes F, H, L, S or Z) into Class U in its goods wagon classification system.
These are:
* Bulk goods wagons for transporting powders, etc.
* ...
*
German railway wagon classes The system of German railway wagon classes (''Wagengattungen'') was introduced in Germany in 1902 and 1905 by the Prussian state railways based on their system of norms, and was soon taken up by the other state railways (''Länderbahnen''). On the ...
*
German state railway norms
In German railway engineering, norms (''Normalien'') are standards for the design and production of railway vehicles. In the 1880s and 1890s, Prussian norms were developed for the locomotives, tenders and wagons of the Prussian state railways unde ...
*
Kangourou wagon
The '' 'kangaroo wagon' '' is a type of wagon rail designed for the transport of semi-trailers. It has a drawbridge forming a pocket in the low position (hence its name) allowing the carrier train (2 or 3 axles) of the semi-trailer to be placed ...
*
Kriegsbauart
*
Lowmac
Lowmac is a United Kingdom railway term for a design of low-floored ('well') wagon. A Lowmac's purpose is for carrying vehicles or equipment that would normally be over the recommended height of a normal flatbed wagon, and hence exceed the loadin ...
*
Pocket wagon
A pocket wagon is a freight wagon that has been specially designed for the transport of truck semi-trailers. This wagon belongs to the group of flat wagons in special design with bogies and is used in combined transport (CT). The name of these fr ...
*
Quarry tub
A tub or quarry tub is a type of railway or tramway wagon used in quarries and other industrial locations for the transport of minerals (such as coal, sand, ore, clay and stone) from a quarry or mine face to processing plants or between vario ...
*
Slate waggon
Slate wagons are specialized types of railway wagons designed for the conveyance of slate. The characteristics of this stone led to the development of small open cars that carried the slate in its various forms. These were first developed on the ...
*
Verbandsbauart
The German term ''Verbandsbauart'' describes both a type of goods wagon as well as a type of tram.
In order to standardise the goods wagons classes of the various German state railways (''Länderbahnen''), the German State Railway Wagon Associa ...
References
External links
Class Ua side-tippers in the Czech archives at parostroj.netFlexiwaggon
{{Freight cars
Freight rolling stock
International Union of Railways