Railway vehicle dynamics glossary

There appears to be as much national and regional variation in the technical and operational terminology used by different railway systems as there is in the multitude of track gauges that have been utilised around the globe. One prominent difference is in the use of the word ‘railway’ by those whose systems originated from British-backed development versus the use of the word ‘railroad’ for most systems using American-based technology. There are many similar British/American equivalent terms that an internationally engaged railway/railroad person will need to be aware of. Prominent examples of these include driver/ engineer, wagon/car, bogie/truck, sleeper/tie, turnout/switch, vee/frog and fishplate/joint bar. However, every railroad company seems to have its own peculiarities in the way it refers to items of hardware, safeworking systems, etc. In addition to the following glossary, readers may find the Railway Technical Website at http://www.railway-technical.com useful in searching out the appropriate terminology relevant to an issue of interest.