An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent

pivot joint In animal anatomy, a pivot joint (trochoid joint, rotary joint or lateral ginglymus) is a type of synovial joint whose movement axis is parallel to the long axis of the proximal bone, which typically has a convex articular surface. According t ...

in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from

heavy equipment Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s and trains. Steam locomotives were sometimes articulated so driving wheels could pivot around corners. In a broader sense, any vehicle towing a trailer (including a semi-trailer) could be described as articulated (which comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''articulus'', "small joint"). In the UK, an ''articulated lorry'' is the combination of a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

and a trailer, abbreviated to "artic". In the US, it is called a semi-trailer truck, tractor-trailer or semi-truck, and is not necessarily considered articulated.

Types

Buses

Buses are articulated to allow for a much longer bus which can still navigate within the turning radius of a normal bus.

Trucks

In the UK, tractor unit and trailer combinations are referred to as

Articulated lorries A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

, or "artics".
semi-trailer
truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) a] is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight.

Trains and rail

Many train cars are made with articulated connections, sharing a common Bogie, truck between two cars. This reduces costs, weight, vibration and noise; and also enables higher speed running. One of the first examples of articulated railway carriages were used by the

London & North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It op ...

(LNER) in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

on its London Suburban Trains in the mid-1920s ; this rolling stock was designed by

Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...

and built at the LNER's Doncaster Works. The four set "Quad-arts" were one of the very earliest articulated trains, this innovation was to save space. Although not the same as modern high speed trains where all the carriages share common

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, they are an early form of the now more common design.

Tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s and light rail vehicles have been made with articulated designs since the 1950s. Articulated trams, were invented and first used by the Boston Elevated Railway in 1912–13. This was instead of using trailers or multiple units, which had been attempted in the early 1900s. The articulated design allows passengers (and fare inspectors) to move the entire length of the vehicle, whether stopped or in motion. File:DTTX 724681 20050529 IL Rochelle.jpg, Articulated well cars with containers File:Gresley Quad Art Set at Sheringham station - geograph.org.uk - 1386710.jpg,

articulated train from 1924

Heavy equipment

Front loaders, graders,

dump truck A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials (such as dirt, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction as well as coal. A t ...

s and other vehicles have been made with articulated joints to greatly reduce their turning radius and make a single track when making a turn in a soft surface like mud or sand. (the rear wheels follow the front wheel trajectory) The most common models of articulated haulers are

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

, and Terex trucks ranging in tonnage from 25 to 40 ton.

Military vehicles

Some military vehicles, including the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

' M561 Gama Goat and the Swedish Bandvagn 206 were engineered with an articulated body for rough terrain capability.

Watercraft

The "integral unit", or "Integrated Tug and Barge" (ITB), comprises specially designed vessels that lock together in such a rigid and strong method as to be certified as such by authorities (classification societies) such as the

American Bureau of Shipping 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, p ...

, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, Indian Register of Shipping,

Det Norske Veritas DNV (formerly DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. The company currently has about 12,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides serv ...

or several others. These units stay combined under virtually any sea conditions and the "tugs" usually have poor sea-keeping designs for navigation without their "barges" attached. Vessels in this category are legally considered to be ships rather than tugboats and barges must be staffed accordingly. These vessels must show navigation lights compliant with those required of ships rather than those required of tugboats and vessels under tow. "Articulated Tug and Barge" (ATB) units also utilize mechanical means to connect to their barges. ATBs generally utilize Intercon and Bludworth connecting systems. ATBs are generally staffed as a large tugboat, with between seven and nine crew members. The typical American ATB operating on the east coast, per custom, displays navigational lights of a towing vessel pushing ahead, as described in the '72 COLREGS.

References

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