LEGO.com Factory : Train terms

Trains Home
NEW Basic Train Building
Cool Train Creations
Fan Files
Train Terms
Train Photos
Santa Fe
LEGO Train Timeline
Downloads

Train terms

Welcome to the ever-growing glossary of Train Terms!

Air Brakes
Air brakes use compressed air to push the train's brake shoes onto the wheels to slow or stop the locomotive.

Bogie Truck
A bogie truck isn't quite what it sounds like. It's a wheeled carriage, fitted beneath the end of a locomotive or train car, that's hinged to help the car go smoothly around curves in the track.

Carriage/Coach
A rail car that carries passengers.

Coupling
The coupling is a handy bit of gadgetry that holds two train cars together, or fastens a car to the engine. LEGO Trains use magnets as couplers. Modern trains use "knuckle couplers", which lock together like a pair of - you guessed it - knuckles!

Cowcatcher
A cowcatcher is a metal grille or frame that's attached to the very front of a train engine. It's used to nudge obstructions - like livestock that wander onto the track - out of the path of the moving train.

Driving wheel
A specialized wheel that is connected to the power supply of the engine and used to drive the locomotive's movement.

Double heading
The use of two locomotives, each with its own crew, to pull a train.

Flange
The protruding lip on a train wheel that guides the wheel along the ridge of the rail.

Gauge
The gauge is the distance between two rails of a railroad track, a measurement used to determine the width at which a train's wheels need to be set in order to travel on that kind of track!

Observation Car
A coach car, often at the rear of a passenger train, which features large windows for scenic viewing.

Pantograph
A spring-loaded, jointed framework that links the top of an electrical locomotive with its overhead power supply lines.

Rolling Stock
Rolling stock includes train cars, engines, coaches and other railroad vehicles - if it's got wheels and can be used for transportation, it's rolling stock!

Signals
Signals are used to control the movement of trains by alerting the engineer to special situations, like the presence of another train on the track ahead or the need to divert onto another track.

Tender
The tender is a small train car attached right behind the locomotive. It carries the engine's water and fuel, in the form of wood or coal.

Tie
A tie is one of the many wooden or concrete strips that attach the two rails of a trackway together, like the middle bar of a capital letter H. Without ties, we'd have no rails to ride on!