What is rolling stock?
Rolling stock broadly means railroad vehicles that move on rails. This guide focuses on freight and passenger cars, cabooses, and specialized equipment.
Boxcars
Enclosed cars with large side doors protect cargo from weather. They carry products such as paper, packaged goods, lumber and other commodities suited to enclosed loading.
Hoppers
Covered hopper
Roof hatches and bottom outlets. Common for grain, cement, plastics and other dry bulk commodities needing protection.
Open hopper
Open-top bulk car used for commodities such as coal and aggregates. Many designs unload through bottom gates.
Spotting clue
Sloped interior floors funnel material toward discharge openings underneath.
Tank cars
Tank cars carry liquids, liquefied gases and other bulk products. Their construction varies with the commodity, including pressure, insulation and protective features.
Gondolas
Open-top cars with a floor and fixed sides. They commonly carry steel, scrap, aggregates and other loads that can be loaded from above. Specialized gondolas serve particular industries.
Flatcars & centerbeams
Flatcars provide an open deck for machinery, steel, vehicles and oversized loads. Centerbeam flatcars have a tall central structure and are strongly associated with bundled lumber and building products.
Intermodal well cars
Well cars carry standardized shipping containers low between their trucks. This makes double-stack container trains possible where route clearances allow. Articulated sets may share trucks between adjacent platforms.
Autoracks
Tall enclosed or partially enclosed cars transport automobiles and light trucks. Modern racks protect vehicles from weather, debris and vandalism.
Refrigerated cars — reefers
Insulated cars for temperature-sensitive freight. Modern mechanical reefers use refrigeration equipment; earlier cars relied on ice and other cooling systems.
Specialized freight cars
| Type | Typical purpose | Spotting clue |
|---|---|---|
| Coil car | Steel coils | Protective hood or coil cradles |
| Spine car | Intermodal service | Minimal central-frame construction |
| Depressed-center flatcar | Heavy/oversize loads | Deck drops lower between trucks |
| Maintenance-of-way | Track/infrastructure work | Highly varied railroad-service equipment |
The caboose
The caboose once provided a workplace and shelter for crew members at the rear of freight trains. Changes in operations and technology, including end-of-train devices, eliminated cabooses from most regular North American freight service.
Passenger rolling stock
Passenger trains can include coaches, sleepers, dining and café cars, baggage cars, lounges and observation cars. Modern trains may also use cab cars for push-pull operation.
Quick identification guide
| If you see... | Start with... |
|---|---|
| Enclosed rectangle with large side doors | Boxcar |
| Cylindrical vessel | Tank car |
| Roof hatches + bottom outlets | Covered hopper |
| Open top + fixed sides | Gondola or open hopper |
| Very tall enclosed/perforated sides | Autorack |
| Containers sitting low between trucks | Intermodal well car |
| Open deck | Flatcar family |
Can't identify a railcar?
Ask Ask the Conductor what features to look for and what the car may be designed to carry.
Ask the Conductor