Quick Guide To Freight Cars And Rolling Stock

Autorack
An autorack is used to haul road vehicles by rail. There are three main types all of which are tall and long: double level, triple level, and Automax. The most common type would be the double level Autorack Cars. The articulated version of a double level autorack is called an Automax car.

Box Car
Can be used to ship in a variety of cargo...from boxes, dry goods, food to auto parts... in fact, almost anything that doesn't require refrigeration.
They come in many different sizes, from 40 to 86 feet and were once the most common freight car around. More and more the general cargo is being put into special sized containers made for specific cargos and placed on flat cars.

Caboose
Cabooses were used to house the engineers and other workers on the trains. The Caboose was especially useful on long trips, giving crew a place to sleep and relax when they were not working. From the Caboose, crew members could inspect the train by looking out the coupola windows. They could also watch the air pressure gauge inside. Cabooses are not seen as often these days as the End-of-Train device is more commonly used. Cabooses are still used on sidings and shortlines where reverse moves are made.

Centerbeam
These are used to transport sheets of wood or drywall on either side of a center beam.

Coiled Steel Car
These cars are specially designed to haul coiled steel. They often have covers on to keep water off the steel.

Flat Car
If the cargo didn't fit in a box car, the goods usually went on a flat car. Flat cars can be used for many different things from hauling boats, helicopters, to army tanks. They are commonly used for carrying the trailers that Semi-trucks pull on the road. A flat car with a trailer on it is called piggyback. This method of transporting trailers was introduced in the U.S. around 1950.
There are many different types of flat cars with the bigger ones having as many as 16 axles. Some flat cars are specially designed to carry weighty loads and some have depressed centers.

Gondola
Gondolas transport a variety of things. Some have low sides and transport discarded tie plates, cross ties, sections of pre-built track, thick sheets of steal, scrap metal and debris. High sided gondolas were also used to transport cargos of wood chips and sawdust secured by heavy netting.

Gunderson Wells
Gunderson well cars haul one container on top of another and are also known as double stack cars. Gunderson well cars are articulated and come in one, three, or five sections.

Hoppers
Uncovered open hoppers are used for non perishable cargos like ballast and coal. Covered hoppers are used for grains, bone meal, sand, and other things that need protection from the weather.

Hoppers are loaded from the top and can differ in the number of bays they have. A small hopper could have only two bays, whereas a large hopper could have 3 to 6 bays.

Some have chutes that use use gravity to empty themselves. Modern hopper cars are simply rotated upside-down to dump.

Refrigerator Car
In 1868, William Davis of Detroit, received a patent for an "icebox on wheels", a refridgerator car he uses to ship fruit and fish by rail.
Before 'reefers' were equipped with gas-powered coolers, trains had to make "ice stops" to load cars with ice. Refridgerated cars are not a common sight these days.

Roadrailer
Roadrailers first appeared on American railroads in the 1950s. They are specialized truck trailers suspended by wheel bogies and coupler mates. The advantage of using roadrailers is that due to their construction, the trailers can be pulled directly behind other freight (or passenger) trains without the use of trailer flatcars.

The trailers were built with integrated railroad wheelsets that were lowered into position when the trailer was pulled behind a train. More recently manufactured roadrailers don't use integrated railroad wheels, instead they ride on specially-manufactured bogies. These bogies perform a double purpose serving as articulation points between multiple trailers in a train.

Spine Car
Spine cars are used to carry truck trailers and can be seen in articulated sets of more than one.

Stock Car
Stck Cars are not seen much these days. They were similar to box cars but have slatted sides and used to carry live stock by rail.

Tank Car
These cars are used to transport bulk liquids such as oil, acids, tallow... even liquefied petroleum gas and granular solids. Tank cars for lighter than air gasses (eg. heilium) have a loaded weight less than their light weight.

Tank cars come in a variety of sizes. A small tank cars might hold the capacity of a few thousand gallons. Large tank cars with eight or emore axles are known to carry extremely heavy loads.

The cars that come with many starter train sets are not highly detailed. You get what you pay for and the starter sets are lower in price to get you started.

When purchasing the cars separately, look for the most realistic and reliable cars that fit with your budget. You can buy cars and rolling stock over the internet if you know exactly what you are looking for and what you are getting. There is however an advantage in buying through a local hobby store. You can pick up the cars and have a good hands-on inspection before buying.