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Train Glossary: All aboard - a term a conductor yells while a train is stopped at a station to tell passengers it is time to board the train before its departure. Axle - the circular shaft connecting two wheels. Baggage car - a car that carries passengers' baggage and oversized items. Board - to get on a passenger train. Brakes - four types of devices used on each car to stop or slow down the train: air, vacuum, dynamic and parking. Brakeman - the person responsible for monitoring and applying brakes as directed by the engineer. Bullet train - a style of streamlined train known for its speed and bullet-like shape. Cab - a train car that holds all the train's controls, and where the engineer rides. Caboose - the car at the end of the train where workers rode and rested. Car - an enclosed railroad compartment for carrying passengers or freight. Club car - a car with lounge seating where drinks are served to passengers. Conductor - the person in charge of the train's passengers, doing things such as taking tickets. Controls - the mechanisms an engineer uses to operate a train. Coupler - the mechanism that connects train cars. Cowcatcher - part of a train's front that removes objects from the tracks and the train's path. Cross ties - pieces of wood that run horizontally to connect railroad tracks. Diesel oil - one of the principal fuels for a train, used in diesel engines only. Dome car - a double-decker passenger car that has a glass-domed upper level for viewing scenery, usually used on scenic rail routes. Engine - the part of a locomotive that converts energy into mechanical work. Engineer - the primary individual in charge of driving the train, or someone who designs locomotives. Express train - a train that travels a direct route with few or no stops, offering a shorter trip. Flange - a part of the train wheel that acts as a guidance system. Freight - goods carried from location to location over great distances. Fuel - the principal power source for a train. Gandy dancers - people who worked on a section of a railroad gang that were known for the railroad songs they created and sang while working. Gauge - equipment that helps regulate different systems throughout the train, such as pressure levels, brakes or water levels. Also, the distance between the two rails on a railroad track. Generator - a machine that provides alternative energy. Grade crossing - the intersection of a railroad and a road High-speed train (HST) - any passenger train running over 200 km/h. Hopper car - an open-topped train car with a slanted floor and door for easy loading and unloading. Horn - a warning device operated by the engineer. The horn replaced the traditional whistle. Interchange - a station where passengers can depart one train and board another on a different route. Locomotive - a vehicle with a large engine that is used to pull or push connected train cars on railroad tracks. Maglev train - a high-speed train that is pushed by magnets on the tracks repelling against the magnets on its cars. (Stands for magnetic levitation.) Master controller - the train driver's main power control device located in the cab. Overpass - a train crossing where a structure is built to allow a train to pass over something with no interference. They are often built over roads. Passenger - a person who travels by train or another type of vehicle. Radio - a wireless device that allows workers on a train to communicate with each other or with the station. Railroad - a network of railroad tracks that provides train travel over differing distances; the company that owns and operates the network and the trains that run on it. Railroad tracks - the system of two parallel steel rails and horizontal wooden cross ties that train wheels travel on. Roundhouse - a circular building used for storing and repairing locomotives. Signal - visual indication given to a train driver advising the speed, direction or route of the train. Types: hand signals, semaphore (flag) signals, cab signals and light signals. Signal light - a light signal along the tracks showing indications to train drivers. Signalman - the train worker responsible for coordinating signal lights along a specific section of track. Sleeping car - a car that is part of a passenger train that provides sleeping quarters for its passengers. Smokestack - pipe from which sparks and exhaust are conducted away from the train. Spikes - giant steel nails driven into railroad tracks to hold cross ties and tracks in place. Station - a location along a train's route where trains stop to load or unload passengers or freight; includes a building where passengers can buy tickets, get train times and wait. Stationmaster - an individual who manages a train station. Steel rails - the metal portion of railroad tracks that train wheels sit on, held in place by wooden cross ties and spikes. Steward - a person who works on a passenger train, helping take care of the passengers' needs. Streamlined - trains designed to let air flow more easily around them, to provide the least resistance. Subway - an urban railway, running short distances either underground or above, carrying passengers only. Switch - a mechanism that smoothly splits a railroad track into two tracks so that two trains can pass each other. Third rail - an additional rail to transmit the electrical supply to an electric train. Tunnel - a passageway constructed to allow trains to travel through mountains or under water. Whistle - a warning signal to signalmen describing train routes at junctions, and to guards to signal for brakes; used by drivers before the installation of the horn. |
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