Glossary of rail transport terms
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term railroad and the international term railway is the most significant difference in rail terminology. There are also others, due to the parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of the world.
Various global terms are presented here; where a term has multiple names, this is indicated. The abbreviation "UIC" refers to standard terms adopted by the International Union of Railways in its official publications and thesaurus.
0–9
A
; Adhesion railway; Adhesive weight
; Air brake
; Alerter or watchdog
; All weather adhesion
; Alternator
; American Locomotive Company
; American type
; Angle cock
; Articulated locomotive
; Articulation
; Ashpan: A feature of a locomotive with the same form and purpose as the domestic variety. The only significant difference is the size, measured in feet rather than inches.
; Asynchronous
; Atlantic type
; Automatic block signaling
; Automatic train control
; Automatic train operation
; Automatic train protection
; Autotrain
; Axlebox or axle box
B
; Backhead; Bad order
; Bail off
; Balancing
; Balise
; Ballast
; Ballast tamper
; Balloon
; Bay platform
; Beep
;
; Berkshire type
; Blastpipe
; Block section
; Bo-Bo
; Bogie
; Boiler
; Bolster
; Boom barrier
; Booster engine
; Brakeman's cabin or brakeman's cab
; Brake pipe
; Branch line
; Brick arch
; British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment
; Broad gauge
; Bubble car
; Buckeye coupler
; Buffer
; Buffer stop or bumper post
; Builder's plate
; Bulkhead flatcar
; Bungalow
; Bustitution
C
; Cab; Cab forward
; Cabless
; Caboose
; Cant
; Carbody unit
; Catenary
; Centerbeam
; Challenger type
;Chord
; Co-Co locomotives
; Coal pusher
; Colour light signal
; Colour position signal
; Combined power handle
; Compound locomotive
; Configurable System
; Consist
; Consolidation type
; Container on flat car
; Continuous welded rail
; Control car
; Control System
;Coupler pulling faces, length over
; Coupling rods
; Covered goods wagon
; Cow-calf or cow and calf
; Crank pin
; Crosshead
; Cut
; Cut lever
; Cut off
; Cutting
; Cycle braking
; Cylinder
; Cylinder cock
D
; Dark signal; Dark territory
; Dead man's handle
; Decapod type
; Defect detector
; Degraded Operation
; Demurrage
; Derail or derailer
; Detonator
; Diamond
; Diesel multiple unit
; Direct traffic control
; Distributed power
; Ditch lights
; Division
; Dog or dogspike
; Doodlebug
; Double
; Double heading
; Drag
; Dragging equipment detector
; Drawbar
; Driver or engine driver
; Driver only operation
; Driver
; Dwarf signal
; Dwell time
; Dynamic braking
E
; Ejector; Electric multiple unit
; Electro-Motive Diesel
; Elevated railway, el, or L
; Embankment
; Empty coaching stock
; Emergency release
; End-cab switcher
; Equalizing reservoir
; Event recorder
; Express train
; Extra
F
; Facing; Fairlie
; Fall plate
; Fallen flag
; Feedwater heater
; Feed valve or regulating valve
; Fiddle yard
; Firebox
; Fireman, stoker, or boilerman
; Flat
; Flying junction or flyover
; Fouling point
; Four-quadrant gate
; Free-mo
; Freight wagon
; Full service reduction
; Fusee
; Fusible plug
G
; Garratt; Gauge
; Geep
; Generator field
; Get a knuckle
; GEVO
; Gladhand connector
; Go-devil
; Grab bar or grab iron
H
; Harmonic rock or harmonic rock and roll; Headboard
; Headstock
; Heavy haul
; High rail
; Hole
; Home signal
; Horn blocks
; Hostling
; Hotbox
; Hotbox detector
; Hudson type
; Hump
; Hunting
I
; Independent brake or locomotive brake; Infill station or in-fill station
; Injector
; Insulated rail joint or insulated block joint
; Interchange
; Interlocking
; Intermodal freight transport
; Intermodal passenger transport
; Interoperability
; Island platform
J
; Jacobs Bogie; Joint bar or rail joiner
; Jointed track
; Journal bearing
; Journal box
; Jubilee type
; Junction
K
; Keeper; Kick
; Kicker
; Kinematic envelope
; Knuckle
L
; Lead track; Level crossing, railroad crossing, railway crossing, train crossing, or grade crossing
; Light engine
; Light rail
; Link and pin
; Local train
; Lunar
M
; Main generator; Main reservoir
; Mallet
; Manifest
; Mars Light
; Mechanical semaphore signal
; Mikado type
;
; Modalohr
; Mogul type
; Mothballed
; Mountain type
; Mud ring
; Multiple aspect signalling
; Multiple unit
N
; Narrow gauge; Northern type
; or run 8
O
; Open wagon; Out to foul
P
; Pacific type; Pannier tank
; Pantograph
; Paperwork
; Pennsy
; Per diem
; Permissive signal
; Pilot
; Pilot engine
; Pilot man
; Piston
; Piston travel
; Pony truck
; Porch
; Porter
; Portion working
; Position light signal
; Positive train control
; Possession
; Pound
; Power
; Power braking
; Prairie type
; Prime mover
; Pull apart
; Push pole
; Push–pull train
R
; Rack railway, rack-and-pinion railway, or cog railway; Railbus
; Railcar
; Railfan
; Rail grinder
; Rail profile
; Rail squeal
; Rail tractor
; Railroad car
; Railroadiana
;
; Railway station
; Railway terminal
; Red
; Red zone
; Reefer
;
; Reporting mark
; Rerail frog or rerailer
; Retarder
; Reverser or reverser handle
; Ribbon rail
; Right-side failure
; Roadrailer
; Rolling stock
; Rookie
; Rotary
; Roundhouse
;, punch box, or train-identification pushbuttons
; Ruling gradient
; Run
; Runaway
; Running track
; Run-round
; Run-through power
S
; Saddle tank; Safe place
; Safeworking
; Sandbox
; Sandite
; Santa Fe type
; Saturated locomotive
; Scale
; Schnabel car
; Searchlight
; Section
; Semaphore signal
; Shay locomotive
; Shunt
; Shoofly
; Shuttle train
; Side tank
; Siding
; Signal
; Signal box
; Signal passed at danger
; Signalman
; Slippery rail
; Slow order
; Slug
; Smokebox
; Snowplow, snow plow, snowplough, or snow plough
; Snow shed
; Span bolster
; Spike
; Spiral easement
; Spreader
; Self-propelled ultrasonic rail testing
; Staff and ticket
; Standard gauge
; Station master
; Steam generator
; Steam reverser
; Subdivision
; Supercharger
; Superheater
; Survey
; Surveyor
; Switchman
T
; Tamping machine; Tank car
; Team track
; Tender
; Terminal railroad
; Texas type
; Third rail
; Through coach
; Through platform
; Tie plate
; Trailer on flat car
; Token
; Track bed or trackbed
; Track bulletin
; Track circuit
; Track transition curve
; Trackside objects
; Traction motor
; Tractive effort
; Trailing
; Train bell
; Train coupler
; Trainman
; Train inauguration
; Train operation and management
;, terminal manager, or road manager
; Train order
; Train set
; Trainset
; Tram
; Tram-train
; Treadle
; Turnout or points
; Turntable
U
; Unit trainV
; Vacuum brake; Valve gear
W
; Standpipe; Water gauge or water glass
; Way car
; Wayobjects or wayside objects
; Well tank
; Well wagon
; Wheel
; Wheel climb
; Wheel flange
; Wheel–rail interface
; Wheel slip
; Wheeltapper
; Wheel tread
; Whistle
; Whistle post
; Whyte notation
; Wigwag
; Working water, foaming, or priming
; Wrong-side failure
Y
; Yard; Yellow