Goods wagon

At the beginning of the railway era, the vast majority of goods wagons were four-wheeled (two wheelset) vehicles of simple construction.

The Deutsche Bahn (DB) even has goods wagons cleared for high-speed rail travel at up to 100 mph (160 km/h).

Because the braking distance of fast goods trains is longer than the separation between distant and home signals (as are Express Passenger trains), they may only run at high speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h) with locomotives on routes with early signalling systems in the driver's cab (LZB, FZB and ETCS).

In Europe, the first agreements were struck very early on between the national state railways (Länderbahnen) and private companies for the mutual use of each other's goods wagons.

Around 1850, the Union of German Railway Administrations (Verein Deutscher Eisenbahnverwaltungen) drew up regulations for the standardisation of dimensions and fittings.

The formation of the Prussian State Railway Union in 1881 encouraged the emergence of wagon classes built to standard norms.

The separate northern and southern U.S. track gauges were unified on June 1, 1886,[4] allowing freight cars to be interchanged throughout the continent.

The Safety Appliance Act of 1893 made air brakes and automatic couplers mandatory on all trains in the United States, effective 1900.