![Interurban and 'pusher' cart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Interurban_and_%27pusher%27_cart.jpg)
A flatcar (US) (also flat car,
or flatbed) is a piece of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or
bogie
A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
s (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair (or rarely, more) of bogies under each end. The deck of the car can be
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 th ...
or
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for
stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.
Flatcars are used for loads that are too large or cumbersome to load in enclosed cars such as
boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s. They are also often used to transport
intermodal container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
s (shipping containers) or
trailers
Trailer may refer to: a
Transportation
* Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle
** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers
** Full-trailer
** Semi-trailer
**Horse trailer ...
as part of
intermodal freight transport
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 ...
shipping.
Specialized types
Aircraft parts flatcars
Aircraft parts were hauled via conventional
freight cars
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
beginning in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. However, given the ever-increasing size of aircraft assemblies, the "Sky Box" method of shipping parts was developed in the late 1960s specifically to transport parts for the
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
and other "jumbo" jets of the time. The "Sky Box" consists of a two-piece metal shell that is placed atop a standard flatcar to support and protect
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
and
tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
assemblies and
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
sections in transit (originally,
depressed-center or "fish belly" cars were utilized).
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
aircraft have been shipped throughout the United States on special trains, including the fuselage.
Chaincars
Flatcars with tie down
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
s,
tie down strap
A tie down strap (also known as a ratchet strap, a lashing strap or a tie down) is a fastener used to hold down cargo or equipment during transport. Tie down straps are essentially webbing that is outfitted with tie down hardware. This hardware ...
s or
stake
Stake may refer to:
Entertainment
* '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game
* ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film
* "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams''
* ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...
pockets
Bulkhead flatcars
Bulkhead flatcars are designed with sturdy end-walls (
bulkheads) to prevent loads from shifting past the ends of the car. Loads typically carried are
pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
,
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
slab
Slab or SLAB may refer to:
Physical materials
* Concrete slab, a flat concrete plate used in construction
* Stone slab, a flat stone used in construction
* Slab (casting), a length of metal
* Slab (geology), that portion of a tectonic plate that i ...
s,
utility pole
A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, optical fiber, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as Distribution transfor ...
s and
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
, though lumber and utility poles are increasingly being hauled by skeleton cars. Bulkheads are typically lightweight when empty. An empty bulkhead on a train puts it at a speed restriction to go no more than . Since bulkheads are lightweight when empty,
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
can occur when the car is above . Hunting is the wobbling movement of the trucks on a freight car or a locomotive. If the wheels hunt against the rails for a period of time, there is a high risk of a derailment.
Centerbeam flatcars/lumber racks
Centerbeam flatcars, centerbeams, center partition railcar, or "lumber racks" are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as
dimensional lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
,
wallboard
Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...
, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal
I-beam
An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish language, Polish, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Spanish language, Spanish ...
, often in the form of a
Vierendeel truss
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
, sometimes reinforced by
diagonal
In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek δ ...
members, but originally in the form of stressed panels perforated by panel-lightening "opera windows", either oval-shaped (seen above) or egg-shaped. These flatcars must be loaded
symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other, to avoid tipping over.
Heavy capacity flatcars
Heavy capacity flatcars are cars designed to carry more than . They often have more than the typical North American standard of four
axle
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, bearing ...
s (one two-axle
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
at each end), and may have a depressed center to handle excess-height loads as well as two trucks of three axles each (one at each end) or four trucks (two at each end) of two axles each, connected by
span bolster
Span may refer to:
Science, technology and engineering
* Span (unit), the width of a human hand
* Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports
* Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft
* Sorbitan ester ...
s. Loads typically handled include electrical power equipment and large industrial production machinery.
Circus use
A circus train is a modern method of conveyance for
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains was the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX), a famous
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
formed when the
Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Germa ...
purchased the
Barnum and Bailey Circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...
in 1907, merged in 1919, and closed permanently as a merged company in May 2017.
Remote control use
Some companies, such as
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
, have former wood-carrying flatcars rebuilt into platforms which mount
remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
equipment for use in operating locomotives. Such platforms are fitted with appropriate headlights,
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, and air brake appliances to operate in the leading position on a cut of cars (i.e. coupled ahead of the locomotive).
Intermodal freight use
COFC (container on flat car) cars are typically long and carry four
intermodal container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
s or two / shipping containers (the two containers are carryable due to the fact that the car is actually long, over the
strike plates). With the rise of
intermodal-freight-transport–specific cars, and given the age of most of these flats, numbers will decline over the next several years. Indeed, when the first
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 ...
s appeared, allowing double stacking, many container flats were re-built as
autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...
s. The few "new build" container flats are identifiable by their lack of decking, welded steel frame, and standard length. One variant is the car (which usually carries one large container as a load); these are actually re-built old
boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s. Common
reporting mark
A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...
s are FEC, CP, SOO and KTTX. The ATTX cars, which feature non-sparking grips and sides, are built for hauling dangerous goods (ammunition, flammable fluids, etc.).
Image:FEC 37066 20050604 WI Glen Haven.jpg, A Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...
flatcar carries two shipping containers
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
as it passes through Glen Haven, Wisconsin.
Spine car
![Railroad car with container loads](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Railroad_car_with_container_loads.jpg)
A spine car is a car with only center and side sills and lateral arms to support
intermodal container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
s.
Trailer-on-flat car
A
Trailer-on-flat-car
Trailer on flatcar, also known as TOFC or piggyback, is the practice of carrying semi-trailers on railroad flatcars. TOFC allows for shippers to move truckloads long distances more cheaply than can be done by having each trailer towed by a truck, s ...
, or
piggy-back car allows two trailer pups or one
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 tracto ...
up to to be carried. Like well cars, these usually come in
articulated
An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...
sets of five or three.
A longer TOFC (trailer on flat car) is usually an car. In the past, these carried three trailers which are, as of 2007, almost obsolete, or one large, , two or trailers. As intermodal traffic grows, these dedicated flats are in decline. Most have been modified to also carry containers as well. One notable type is
Canadian Pacific Railway's XTRX service—dedicated five-unit flats that only carry
trailers
Trailer may refer to: a
Transportation
* Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle
** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers
** Full-trailer
** Semi-trailer
**Horse trailer ...
.
File:89 foot flat car intermodal.png, Four long intermodal flatcars
Image:Flat car - KCS 8985.jpg, This Kansas City Southern Railway
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...
flatcar is fitted with fifth wheel coupling
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...
s for hauling trailers
Trailer may refer to: a
Transportation
* Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle
** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers
** Full-trailer
** Semi-trailer
**Horse trailer ...
. (2004)
Skeleton car
Similar to the spine car except that it is designed to carry
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
or
utility pole
A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, optical fiber, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as Distribution transfor ...
s, a skeleton car is composed of a center sill and lateral arms only. No deck, sometimes no side sills and sometimes no end sills.
Skelleton logging car, capacity
/ref>
Idler flatcars
In some marine services, the linkspan
A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vessel or ferry, particularly to allow for tidal changes in water level.
Linkspans are usually found at ferry t ...
between a ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
or barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
and its dock
A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...
is very weak. In order to avoid loss of cargo or heavy locomotives, an old flatcar (which is usually the lightest car available) is used as a bridge between the locomotive on the dock and the cars on the ferry or barge.
Idler flatcars are also used in oversize freight service, as loads such as pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
often overhang the ends of most standard-sized flatcars. Empty flatcars will be placed on both ends of the loaded car. This protects the cargo ends from damage and ensures that the loads don't bind and damage the ends of adjacent cars.
Often a flat car is placed directly in front of a crane ("big hook") in order to:
* provide a way to remove a wrecked car from a crash site.
* provide a way to store new or removed rail from a work site.
* allow room for the crane's boom while in transit to and from a work site.
Idler flatcars are also used to mount one kind of coupler on one end and another kind on the other end. This is called a match wagon or a barrier vehicle
A barrier vehicle (BV), barrier wagon, match wagon or translator coach is used to convert between non-matching railway coupler types. This allows locomotives to pull railway vehicles or parts of a train with a different type of coupler. A match ...
.
See also
* Bogie bolster wagon
A bogie bolster wagon is a British railway term for a wagon designed to carry long thin cargoes such as timber or rails and other steel sections. The sides and ends are minimal and there is no roof. The load is carried longitudinally and borne by ...
* Conflat
Conflat is a United Kingdom railway term for a short wheelbase flat wagon container wagon.
British Railways used several standard types of wagon. The Conflat A, which could carry one type 'B', or two type 'A', containers, was the most common ...
* Containerization
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
* Flatbed trolley
A flatbed trolley a common form of freight transport in distribution environments, for moving bulk loads. Trolleys can aid in reducing effort required to move a load by allowing the user to pull or push instead of lift and carry. A very simple des ...
* Flatbed truck
A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy load ...
* Intermodal container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode of transport, modes of trans ...
* Rollbock
''Rollbocks'', sometimes called transporter trailers, are narrow gauge railway trucks or bogies that allow a standard gauge wagon to 'piggyback' on a narrow-gauge line. The Vevey system enables a coupled train of standard gauge wagons to be autom ...
* Rolling highway
In rail transportation, a rolling highway or rolling road is a form of combined transport involving the conveying of road trucks by rail, referred to as Ro-La trains. The concept is a form of piggyback transportation.
The technical challeng ...
* Side stake
A stanchion () is a sturdy upright fixture that provides support for some other object. It can be a permanent fixture.
Types
In architecture stanchions are the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizo ...
* 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 ...
* Transporter flatcar
References
*
External links
Rail car manufacturing
Guide to Rail Cars
{{Intermodal containers
Freight rolling stock