Glossary of rail transport terms

Rail transport terms are a form of technical terminology applied to railways.

In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist.

The abbreviation "UIC" refers to terminology adopted by the International Union of Railways in its official publications and thesaurus.

The locomotive then pushes or pulls the car so that the derailed wheel runs up the rerailer and back on to the track.

[214] A framework of wood or metal carrying the main body structure of a railway vehicle, such as a locomotive, carriage or wagon.

The American wheel arrangement
The Atlantic wheel arrangement
A Swiss axle box
The backhead of UP 4017 , a locomotive at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin
An example of a BNSF Railway bad order repair tag
The Berkshire wheel arrangement
Boom barriers at a railway crossing in France
A caboose on display at the National New York Central Railroad Museum
A catenary is visible above this electric Amtrak train.
The Challenger wheel arrangement
The Consolidation wheel arrangement
The Decapod wheel arrangement
A detonator on a rail
A railroad crossing at grade, also known as a diamond
A diesel multiple unit in Poland
A Canadian National Railway train showing the placement of ditch lights on the locomotive
Four-quadrant gates rising
A brakeman uses a fusee to demonstrate a hand signal indicating "stop"
Concept of the Garratt locomotive
An EMD GP38-2 , "General Purpose" (GP) locomotives are often called a " Geep "
The Hudson wheel arrangement
A journal box complete with bearing and journal
The Jubilee wheel arrangement
The Mikado wheel arrangement
The Mogul wheel arrangement
The Mountain wheel arrangement
Comparison between standard gauge (blue) and one common narrow gauge (red) rail spacing
The Northern wheel arrangement
The Pacific wheel arrangement
A pantograph
A position light signal
The Prairie wheel arrangement
A push pole
Rail profiles for flat-bottom and bullhead rails
Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. , an example of a railway station
A rerail frog or rerailer stored (on its side) on a locomotive. The slot is placed over the rail and the derailed wheel is pushed or pulled until it runs up the rerailer and back on to the track.
A roundhouse and turntable, viewed from above
Platform track and a run-round loop at Toyooka Station , Hyogo, Japan, the terminus of the line from Miyazu
The Santa Fe wheel arrangement
A British lower-quadrant semaphore signal with subsidiary arm below
A two-head color position signal on a CSXT mainline where the left head displays "Stop" and the right, "Clear"
A Canadian National Railway prairie rail snowplow
Two unused and one heavily corroded spikes , with an inch ruler shown for scale
A Jordan spreader
A track tamping machine
The Texas wheel arrangement
A turntable in Toronto, Canada
A water gauge
A wheeltapper at work on the Bulgarian railway
A double whistle post
Railroad yard in Chicago , Illinois, as seen in December 1942
The Lithgow Zig Zag