Railroad 101
Introduction to Railroading
Background Information
• Experts in the rail industry have
created a ton of information to share
with students. The link below is to a
PowerPoint presentation on the verchanging railroad-
https://www.wsorrailroad.com/resources/e
_central_consortium_pp.ppt
Bailey Rail Yard, North Platte, NE
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/index.shtml
Railroad Terminology
• This website includes a pdf of terms:
– http://www.srpedd.org/commuterrail/Rail%20Term
inology.pdf
• The Indiana DOT lists 41 terms on its website
at
– http://www.state.in.us/indot/files/append_a.pdf
• The below website lists about 1000 terms of
the railroad industry
– http://www.icrr.net/terms.htm
Basic Terms
• Flat car A railroad freight car without sides or a roof.
• Low-bottom flat car A railroad freight car that is depressed in the
center to permit overhead clearance for bridges and tunnels.
• Trailer A large transport vehicle designed to be hauled by a truck or
tractor.
• Piggy-back method of transportation in which truck trailers are
carried on train cars specially designed for truck trailers or
containers.
• Double-stacked Two containers (often truck trailers) loaded one on
top of the other for transport on low bottom railroad flatcars. This
system may also be referred to as multi-deck operations for
transporting containers of various types.
Basic Terms Continued…
• Inter-modal A transport system that enables the direct
transfers of containers between different transportation
types. Freight is usually contained in a box designed to
be carried by different modes of transport that permits
same box or container to be transferred between road,
rail, sea, inland waterways, and air transport without
transferring the contents to another container.
• Tank car A railcar consisting of a container capable of
transporting liquids or compressed gas.
• Van A railroad car used for carrying baggage or freight
Types of Rail Cars
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Car Types
Automobile Racks
Boxcars
Covered Hoppers
Flat Cars including
Centerbeams
Gondola Cars
Open-Top Hoppers
Intermodal Equipment
Tank Cars
The types listed above go to links on the Union Pacific Website.
How Trains Work
• How Stuff Works
has a great unit on
this topic. Please
visit this website
and follow along
with the 7 parts.
• http://www.howstuff
works.com/train.htm
How Diesel Locomotives Work
• How Stuff Works
has a great unit on
this topic. Please
visit this website
and follow along
with the 7 parts.
• http://science.howst
uffworks.com/diesel
-locomotive.htm
Train Simulator
Union Pacific Simulator, Mid-Plaines Community College, North Platte, NE
Train Simulator Continued…
Union Pacific Simulator, Mid-Plaines Community College, North Platte, NE
Train Simulator Continued…
Union Pacific Simulator, Mid-Plaines Community College, North Platte, NE