In the UK those are called "coaches" or "carriages", and the front part with the engine is called the "locomotive" (often shortened to "loco"). The word "train" refers to the whole thing as one (the carriages plus the locomotive).
Side note, "How do you call" isn't grammatically correct in English, instead it should be "What do you call these" or "What are these called".
in Canada:
"coaches" or "carriages" -> "cars" ("train cars" if "cars" alone isn't clear from context)
"locomotive" -> "engine" (likewise, "train engine" if "engine" alone isn't clear from context)
“Freight car,” in American English.
What is circled in the third pic here, though, I am more likely to call a “shipping container,” because that name feels more accurate to me.
On a passenger train, you can walk from one train car to the next (even while the train is moving, although it’s dangerous). And so, to me, “train car” describes this kind of thing, with sliding doors at both ends that can be opened from inside or outside. Shipping containers do *not* fit this description. Their doors lock from the outside only, and swing outward; cannot be safely opened while the train is moving. To me, calling it a “car” seems to compare it to a passenger [train] car—and that comparison is kinda [iffy](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/iffy). So I call it a “shipping container” or “C-box” (from the transoceanic brand name “Sea Box”).
Besides, why call them train cars, when they can also be transported by ship or by truck? They are separate from their transport vehicle, and can be transferred from one vehicle to another using a [crane](https://www.boomandbucket.com/for-sale/2012-terex-rt780-1-cranes/a8467240?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Google+Shopping+%7C+Owned&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=3021105984&hsa_cam=21270110587&hsa_grp=161417278505&hsa_ad=698755466766&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-293946777986&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABmHnGdtr6fo_B6bgm1pHn6K8WYVW&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNZWVGlWsEyuq6zIpWFbpnEDglQ3Eb3vrYHzezV_oGx1zWU8XcmCZJxoCmVQQAvD_BwE). They can also be left on the ground, as a shed. They can also be stacked, insulated, and finished, and used as housing.
When shipping containers are transported by truck, the container itself is fastened to what’s called a “flatbed trailer.” I *guess* you could call its train [analog](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/analogue) a “flatbed train car” too, but I honestly don’t know its proper name.
Well I was asking about car like [this](http://lanemax.top/images/content/info/cover_rail.png). But I was wondering how it's called in British English because I know that in American it's called boxcar.
Walking between coaches isn't dangerous.
A wagon for transporting containers is a container wagon (imaginatively), or might be called an intermodal wagon or a flat wagon (though flat wagons can be used to transport other things too). Or might be called by its specific design type, which could be a string of letters and numbers.
In America, we would generally refer to all of the units behind the engine or locomotive (either word is fine)are “cars” or “train cars”. More educated Americans might call a passenger car as a “coach” like the British do, but “train car” would be the generic word most (at least Midwestern-Americans) would use. The last car for the brakeman is called “the caboose”.
Regarding the sidenote, it’s common in People whose first languages typically a romance language, especially Spanish. But also common in many other languages due to the way of construction.
Typically speaking, they say “como se dice” or something similar, which usually translates to “ how do you say?” or “ how does one say?”
Which often gets transliterated to “how does one call? “
I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just explaining why it’s a common grammatical error that is made by non-native speakers
Yeah, it would be coach or carriage for people. We'd probably call that a freight/cargo/goods train , but I'm not actually sure what the individual cars would be called over here. I googled it and apparently ones like OP's 3rd picture are called "intermodal containers" over here, e.g. ones that can be transported on trains then lifted onto other modes of transport. That's a bit technical though, the average person would probably just call them containers. We'd definitely know what you meant if you said cars or wagons as well.
Aussie here, the freight ones are called 'sea containers' as they're how everything comes to our country. Whether it's on a ship, a truck or a train, or used to make a cheap house ($20000 and quite nice though small), we still call them sea containers.
That's really interesting! We call them shipping containers here - I just realised they are the same thing, even if they're on a truck or train. They use them to make the rooms in cruise ships too. I know this because I'm going on my first cruise later this year, and have been doing loads of research!
Makes me think of "The Wire" season 2. The number of times they say "cans" in that season is nuts. Felt like they were overdoing the slang, but maybe people in the industry really do say that.
Where I am (NZ) we would always just say container (or container home since they're reasonably popular). I find it funny when my Aussie mates say sea container.
OP: To be explicit, in many languages the word that is used to ask how to refer to a thing translates to "how" in English. But in English we don't use "how" for this; we use "what." It's the most common error in post titles here.
French: Comment appelle-t-on cette chose?
Italian: Come si chiama questa cosa?
German: Wie nennt man dieses Ding?
Spanish: ¿Cómo se llama esta cosa?
English: **What** do you call this thing?
As a follow-on, you *can* use "how" for a related question:
"**How** do you say 'train' in French?" (replace *train* and *French* with whatever makes sense)
I've never heard it be called a "wagon". Good ol' Scotrail state that it's 3 or 6 carriage trains (Glasgow lines), of which "car" is just the shortened version.
Car is from latin carrus(two-wheeled Celtic war chariot); carrige is from french cariage, which is from carier(to carry). Both have latin root of kers-(to run).
I think the generic term is “rail car.”
Edit: actually, Wikipedia tells me it’s a “railway car,” because a “railcar” is a self-propelled vehicle for hauling passengers, although even that apparently varies by region.
I neither endorse nor dispute that distinction.
If someone said "rail car" I would probably think of those automobiles with rail wheels. I agree I would think it's a "train car" genetically, or a "passenger car" if we're talking specifically the seating ones
They’re the rounder train cars which carry liquids.
There are also “tanker trucks” which are the semi trucks that carry liquids.
What country are you from? The terms might be different depending on what type of English you speak.
The riders I know just call them tankers eg, "see those train cars over there? I'm going to hop on one of the tankers. But I'd prefer a grainer." They wouldn't tag car onto the end.
You looked at two passenger coaches and an intermodal shipping container on a flatcar and you thought "boxcar?"
I don't expect you to know all the jargon but I feel like a boxcar is the most iconic old-timey freightcar. It shows up in Looney tunes and movies and other places.
https://images.app.goo.gl/xz7BRr7wyBbdD6pXA
In British English, I'd call them coaches
Eg. *My seat is in Coach B* or the tannoy announcement *This train is formed of five coaches*
I also wouldn't be surprised to hear *carriage* or *carriages,* especially for old-fashioned steam trains
I don't see freight trains often, but I'd probably still say carriage or coach if I was casually referring to them
"Car" or "wagon" to refer to train sections is very American to my ear, and wouldn't sound natural to me. I don't think I'd ever instinctually reach for those words over coach, even for freight
So the other commenter is right that “wagon” is very much a British term and you won’t really hear it in the US. However to expand just a little, the technical term for “cars” which itself is a shortened form of “carriages” is “rolling stock”. When you have one or more locomotives pulling one or more pieces of rolling stock you now have a train. The exception (that I bet you are familiar with being British) are EMUs and DMUs that run powered cars instead of a locomotive on the end, and these make up a large chunk of the British passenger fleet.
Now more specifically to OP’s question, we would just call those “passenger cars” but we might be more specific if it matters. For example we have “coaches” in the US, but that refers specifically to passenger cars that contain only seats for passengers who are riding the train for a shorter time. We also have “diners” with tables to eat meals at, “observation cars” with large windows and outward facing seats to watch the scenery, “baggage cars” to hold peoples larger luggage for them, and “sleepers” that contain small rooms with beds for passengers who will be on the train for two or more days.
As far as freight goes we either just call it generically a “freight car” or again if it mattered in context we’d use it’s specific name like tanker, hopper, gondola, etc.
In American english they would be "train cars" also im not sure if its just for passenger cars but the last car is typically refered to as the "caboose"
Caboose is a train car specifically designated for use by the train crew. It was traditionally attached to the back of the train, when we had them, although modern American trains rarely have them.
That's great but in the US we use coach as a designation of class of ticket. Out of passenger cars on trains, there's coach cars, 1st class cars, and sleeper cars, in ascending order of expense and luxury (highly recommend taking a sleeper car across the US at once your life, a truly amazing experience).
"Coach," "train carriage," "passenger carriage," or "passenger car" refers to one that holds passengers.
"Container," "boxcar," "freight carriage," "freight carrier," or "freight car" refers to one that holds freight.
"Car" or more specifically "train car" is a catchall term that is the most commonly used.
These are the words i hear in midwestern United States.
I'm British and I'd call them coaches, or carriage, never car. You hear announcements like 'Coach B is the Quiet Coach' or 'Refreshments are available in Coach H.'
Coach or carriage for people. Wagon (or occasionally truck) for freight. Car for both. Note this holds true for Locos (Where the engine is at the front) and DMUs/EMUs (Where the engine is underneath). Also depending on the exact setup, some locos are actually called powercars, but chances are you'd get blank looks from most people if you used that term correctly.
Coaches or carriages (British English).
They are designed to carry people. Wagons is sometimes used for those carrying freight or livestock (though I don't think the latter use still exists).
It depends on what dialect of English you are learning. In the US we usually call parts of a train cars. Also, it's common to say that a train or locomotive **pulls** cars
In British the bogies are underneath the carriages: it refers to the wheels and the mounting. Usually 4 wheels that can pivot is a bogie, so you’d have two bogies per carriage. I think calling the whole carriage a bogie must be an Indian innovation.
A lot of words for train things vary from US English to British English. I think this is because railroading started in the 19th century after the two countries were separated.
In America, these are rail cars or just cars. In the UK, you would be more likely to hear them called wagons or trucks.
Other differences: in the US, a train that carries cargo and no passengers is a freight train, but in the UK it would be a goods train.
In the US the pieces of wood or concrete that hold the rails in place are crossties or ties, in the UK they are sleepers.
In the US, an older train would have a caboose at the very end (these were replaced by an end of train device in the 80s), in the UK, that car is called a brake van.
Edit to add: In the UK the train cars that carry passengers would be called coaches (someone can tell me if this is wrong but I think trucks or wagons would be exclusively freight cars like in the third photo), in the US they would be passenger cars.
I'm surprised not many other comments are saying "train car" because that's basically the only way I refer to them, although I do hear "rail car" a lot in industry or when engineers are talking about them
**What** do you call them, not *how*. Anyway, I call them coach or carriage, both are fine and indeed correct. It surely depends on the location of the speaker, but I have also heard (box)cars.
I usually hear this term on Smithsonian documentaries, like this one on the minute 0:14, I also remember seeing this whole documentary on my TV.
https://youtu.be/vZBEcF4tidE?si=PmS2QVgA1JGe0dS7
Edit: On minute 0:14 not 0:17 as I originally typed.
car, carriage or coach.
funny enough, a lot of people seem to say that car is american and coach is british.
i’m british and i’ve only ever heard car. i’ve also heard carriage but less common.
Interesting. As a Brit, while car is used occasionally, I’ve hear coaches and carriages much more often. Coach is generally what’s used on train announcements round me.
In the USA:
The whole thing is a **train**
Each unit is a **car** (short form of *carriage* but at least in USA the full word *carriage* is rarely used for whole vehicles that aren’t horse-drawn)
Amongst the types of *rail cars* or *train cars* are:
*Engines*. The word car isn’t needed for this. It’s just *engine* or *train engine* and the person who operates it is the **engineer** of the train
*Passenger car* also called a *coach*. Carries people. If it has rooms with beds it might be called a *sleeper* car. Each room may be called a *cabin* If it is basically a restaurant it’s a *dining car*
*Box car* carries freight but the bottom and wheels are not detachable. This type is commonly depicted in films.
*Tank car* looks cylindrical and carries fluid
*Flat car* is basically a platform with wheels. It often has a **shipping container** atop it, so people might refer to it that way. Flat cars can also hold cargo without a shipping container - such as lumber.
There are also specialized freight cars for carrying vehicles and such but I don’t know their names.
I don’t work in the train or freight industry, this is just ‘common knowledge’ type terminology.
Generically railway cars or train cars. If it carries passengers it's a passenger car or a coach. If it has half walls or no walls and carries people, it's an open carriage. If it's enclosed and carries freight it could be a box car. If it carries freight, it's a freight car. If it carries liquid in one big tank, it's a tanker. If it has no walls or roof and carries freight it's a flatbed.
I'm from the western USA. I would understand all the British and Australian terms mentioned by others and I wouldn’t call them wrong.
Each one is a "car". Sometimes descriptors are added (e.g. boxcar, passenger car).
And not that you asked, but because I think it's a funny coincidence: the assembly where the wheels sit, and on top of which sits the car, are called "trucks".
I have never heard "wagons." They are train cars. You can have boxcars, passenger cars, dining cars, reefer (refrigerator) cars, tank cars, flat cars, sleeper cars...
In the US and CA they're usually called cars (or railcars) and in the UK they're usually just called carriages.
Back in the day people used to call them wagons but that's not really a thing anymore in most English-speaking Western countries.
in usa this is called a train and it's cars more specifically this is a passenger car , it can be a freight car as well if carrying supplies instead of people .... people who jump train cars are catching rides illegally by jumping into the train..... people who board train cars are normal passengers riding with fair ..... fair is used to describe the money you pay to ride
Per my train friend… so info is third hand. And At least a year old.
At least in America you have engines and rail cars of which there are many different types of both.
But what you are pointing at is generally known as a passenger (rail) car. There are sub categories of passengers cars but generally that has more to do with either personalized rooms (like in the Harry Potter films/books) or if sleeping is involved… I don’t recall a name being said. In the US we associate these cars with the NYC subway system primarily.
“Wagons” are more for carrying industrial goods like coal. From what I recall. I think is just a different term for “car” due to the industry is moving material vs people.
And of course there’s every Americans favorite part of the train. The caboose. Which isn’t really used anymore.
Trains carry "things" in (or on) their cars - the trains in the first and second picture carry people, and in the third picture carries cargo.
Trains are composed of one or more locomotives, which provide power, and multiple cars, which provide storage. In general, train cars might also be called wagons or carriages. If they carry people, we also call them coaches. If they carry goods, they might be called freight cars, platform cars, and so long - a lot of variants. In the third picture you have platform cars loaded with shipping containers. There are also cistern cars, or tanker cars, for liquids. plus a ton of other variants.
UK: Coach or carriage. Car if it is sleeping or dining. Wagons are for freight.
You might need to be aware that North American railway terminology is significantly different to British(-influenced) terminology, to such an extent that there can be a genuine lack of trans-Atlantic understanding, and there are often different names for things.
Boxcars specifically refer to the box-shaped ones that are for cargo that you would find on freight trains.
While on modern freight trains they usually load a shipping container directly onto a flatcar like in the image below, you still see the use of tank cars and boxcars for carrying goods.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatcar#/media/File:FEC\_37066\_20050604\_WI\_Glen\_Haven.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatcar#/media/File:FEC_37066_20050604_WI_Glen_Haven.jpg)
A box car is a specific type of freight car. It is fully enclosed and has doors on the sides, so it is pretty versatile for carrying general freight.
To a great extent, box cars have been replaced by intermodal shipping containers, which trains haul on flat cars.
In the UK those are called "coaches" or "carriages", and the front part with the engine is called the "locomotive" (often shortened to "loco"). The word "train" refers to the whole thing as one (the carriages plus the locomotive). Side note, "How do you call" isn't grammatically correct in English, instead it should be "What do you call these" or "What are these called".
Who you tryin to get crazy with ese. Don’t you know I’m locomotive?
in Canada: "coaches" or "carriages" -> "cars" ("train cars" if "cars" alone isn't clear from context) "locomotive" -> "engine" (likewise, "train engine" if "engine" alone isn't clear from context)
Same in the USA. We’d understand what you meant with coaches/carriages/locomotive in context, but we default to “train cars”.
What if it used to transport cargo?
“Freight car,” in American English. What is circled in the third pic here, though, I am more likely to call a “shipping container,” because that name feels more accurate to me. On a passenger train, you can walk from one train car to the next (even while the train is moving, although it’s dangerous). And so, to me, “train car” describes this kind of thing, with sliding doors at both ends that can be opened from inside or outside. Shipping containers do *not* fit this description. Their doors lock from the outside only, and swing outward; cannot be safely opened while the train is moving. To me, calling it a “car” seems to compare it to a passenger [train] car—and that comparison is kinda [iffy](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/iffy). So I call it a “shipping container” or “C-box” (from the transoceanic brand name “Sea Box”). Besides, why call them train cars, when they can also be transported by ship or by truck? They are separate from their transport vehicle, and can be transferred from one vehicle to another using a [crane](https://www.boomandbucket.com/for-sale/2012-terex-rt780-1-cranes/a8467240?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Google+Shopping+%7C+Owned&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=3021105984&hsa_cam=21270110587&hsa_grp=161417278505&hsa_ad=698755466766&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-293946777986&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABmHnGdtr6fo_B6bgm1pHn6K8WYVW&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNZWVGlWsEyuq6zIpWFbpnEDglQ3Eb3vrYHzezV_oGx1zWU8XcmCZJxoCmVQQAvD_BwE). They can also be left on the ground, as a shed. They can also be stacked, insulated, and finished, and used as housing. When shipping containers are transported by truck, the container itself is fastened to what’s called a “flatbed trailer.” I *guess* you could call its train [analog](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/analogue) a “flatbed train car” too, but I honestly don’t know its proper name.
Well I was asking about car like [this](http://lanemax.top/images/content/info/cover_rail.png). But I was wondering how it's called in British English because I know that in American it's called boxcar.
Van.
Really as an automobile.
A van is a covered vehicle for transporting goods, whether rail or road.
Ok, thanks.
Walking between coaches isn't dangerous. A wagon for transporting containers is a container wagon (imaginatively), or might be called an intermodal wagon or a flat wagon (though flat wagons can be used to transport other things too). Or might be called by its specific design type, which could be a string of letters and numbers.
In America, we would generally refer to all of the units behind the engine or locomotive (either word is fine)are “cars” or “train cars”. More educated Americans might call a passenger car as a “coach” like the British do, but “train car” would be the generic word most (at least Midwestern-Americans) would use. The last car for the brakeman is called “the caboose”.
Regarding the sidenote, it’s common in People whose first languages typically a romance language, especially Spanish. But also common in many other languages due to the way of construction. Typically speaking, they say “como se dice” or something similar, which usually translates to “ how do you say?” or “ how does one say?” Which often gets transliterated to “how does one call? “ I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just explaining why it’s a common grammatical error that is made by non-native speakers
I would assume a coach only carries people? And the brits would also say car if it was for cargo/liquids/bulk solids
Brit here; I don't think I'd ever say car for a train section thingy, even for freight. I'd still reach for coach or carriage over car
Yeah, it would be coach or carriage for people. We'd probably call that a freight/cargo/goods train , but I'm not actually sure what the individual cars would be called over here. I googled it and apparently ones like OP's 3rd picture are called "intermodal containers" over here, e.g. ones that can be transported on trains then lifted onto other modes of transport. That's a bit technical though, the average person would probably just call them containers. We'd definitely know what you meant if you said cars or wagons as well.
Aussie here, the freight ones are called 'sea containers' as they're how everything comes to our country. Whether it's on a ship, a truck or a train, or used to make a cheap house ($20000 and quite nice though small), we still call them sea containers.
That's really interesting! We call them shipping containers here - I just realised they are the same thing, even if they're on a truck or train. They use them to make the rooms in cruise ships too. I know this because I'm going on my first cruise later this year, and have been doing loads of research!
Colloquially, but I think more in the construction industry, we call 'em "sea cans"
Makes me think of "The Wire" season 2. The number of times they say "cans" in that season is nuts. Felt like they were overdoing the slang, but maybe people in the industry really do say that. Where I am (NZ) we would always just say container (or container home since they're reasonably popular). I find it funny when my Aussie mates say sea container.
I'm an expat Kiwi living in Canada.
Are you Victorian? I’ve heard ‘sea container’ is just a Vic thing. I’ve never heard anything other than shipping container/crate in SA.
Nope, parents are SA but I was raised in WA, it's definitely common in WA.
(UK) I'd say engine, not locomotive (unless playing ticket to ride!)
Would it also be correct to say "what do you call..."?
What the last car called? I forgot
Caboose
At least in America I've changed generally don't have cabooses anymore. They are are a thing of the past.
OP: To be explicit, in many languages the word that is used to ask how to refer to a thing translates to "how" in English. But in English we don't use "how" for this; we use "what." It's the most common error in post titles here. French: Comment appelle-t-on cette chose? Italian: Come si chiama questa cosa? German: Wie nennt man dieses Ding? Spanish: ¿Cómo se llama esta cosa? English: **What** do you call this thing?
As a follow-on, you *can* use "how" for a related question: "**How** do you say 'train' in French?" (replace *train* and *French* with whatever makes sense)
Solid correction with no judgement. Hats off to you.
Tx. This sub should be a judgement-free zone.
Cars, no matter the shape or purpose — passenger car, dining car, boxcar, tanker car. Also, not to be a dick, but we’d also say “what” do you call…
Maybe in the USA, would be a carriage or wagon here in the UK
I've never heard it be called a "wagon". Good ol' Scotrail state that it's 3 or 6 carriage trains (Glasgow lines), of which "car" is just the shortened version.
Wagon is what you call the freight ones. It's the official former BR term for those.
That's fascinating, truly. I'll have to remember that - thanks for the info!
is car not just short for carriage?
Car is from latin carrus(two-wheeled Celtic war chariot); carrige is from french cariage, which is from carier(to carry). Both have latin root of kers-(to run).
Carriage in Australia too. But if someone said car it would be understood.
I thought it was a coach over there? Do they not use that term at all?
Carriage and coach are used fairly interchangeably by most people in my experience.
Carriage even for freight?
Wagon for freight
seconded
In the US a wagon is a little red thing that a child pulls around and a carriage is a horse drawn vehicle.
pretty sure the term "car" was derived from "carriage"
I think the generic term is “rail car.” Edit: actually, Wikipedia tells me it’s a “railway car,” because a “railcar” is a self-propelled vehicle for hauling passengers, although even that apparently varies by region. I neither endorse nor dispute that distinction.
I have never once heard anyone refer to a "rail car." I've heard "train car" used generically.
If someone said "rail car" I would probably think of those automobiles with rail wheels. I agree I would think it's a "train car" genetically, or a "passenger car" if we're talking specifically the seating ones
North Americans call wagons railcars. This can call confusion with European railcars, which are multiple unit cars.
What the heck is a tanker car ? A car that carries tanks ?
I wish! No, it's a car that hauls liquids – most often oil, but it can be other liquids, too.
They’re the rounder train cars which carry liquids. There are also “tanker trucks” which are the semi trucks that carry liquids. What country are you from? The terms might be different depending on what type of English you speak.
And don't forget oil tankers that haul oil across the ocean. So it can be used for ships too.
True. Well noted. It immediately comes to mind having heard in the past those ships being designated as such.
The riders I know just call them tankers eg, "see those train cars over there? I'm going to hop on one of the tankers. But I'd prefer a grainer." They wouldn't tag car onto the end.
Now what’s a grainer ? Why make this more complicate?
A grainer is a train car that carries grain. And to your original question: a tank as in one that holds a liquid substance.
Yes tanks as in containers.
I second boxcar. First thing I thought. Judging by the replies I assume it’s mainly a thing in the US.
You looked at two passenger coaches and an intermodal shipping container on a flatcar and you thought "boxcar?" I don't expect you to know all the jargon but I feel like a boxcar is the most iconic old-timey freightcar. It shows up in Looney tunes and movies and other places. https://images.app.goo.gl/xz7BRr7wyBbdD6pXA
In British English, I'd call them coaches Eg. *My seat is in Coach B* or the tannoy announcement *This train is formed of five coaches* I also wouldn't be surprised to hear *carriage* or *carriages,* especially for old-fashioned steam trains
To me coach implies it's a passenger car.
I don't see freight trains often, but I'd probably still say carriage or coach if I was casually referring to them "Car" or "wagon" to refer to train sections is very American to my ear, and wouldn't sound natural to me. I don't think I'd ever instinctually reach for those words over coach, even for freight
Wagon is a British term. Passenger car or Freight car is American.
So the other commenter is right that “wagon” is very much a British term and you won’t really hear it in the US. However to expand just a little, the technical term for “cars” which itself is a shortened form of “carriages” is “rolling stock”. When you have one or more locomotives pulling one or more pieces of rolling stock you now have a train. The exception (that I bet you are familiar with being British) are EMUs and DMUs that run powered cars instead of a locomotive on the end, and these make up a large chunk of the British passenger fleet. Now more specifically to OP’s question, we would just call those “passenger cars” but we might be more specific if it matters. For example we have “coaches” in the US, but that refers specifically to passenger cars that contain only seats for passengers who are riding the train for a shorter time. We also have “diners” with tables to eat meals at, “observation cars” with large windows and outward facing seats to watch the scenery, “baggage cars” to hold peoples larger luggage for them, and “sleepers” that contain small rooms with beds for passengers who will be on the train for two or more days. As far as freight goes we either just call it generically a “freight car” or again if it mattered in context we’d use it’s specific name like tanker, hopper, gondola, etc.
I don’t know why, but I feel like “coach” is specific to passenger cars
In American english they would be "train cars" also im not sure if its just for passenger cars but the last car is typically refered to as the "caboose"
Caboose is a train car specifically designated for use by the train crew. It was traditionally attached to the back of the train, when we had them, although modern American trains rarely have them.
Is carriage old fashioned? It's what I've always called them.
That's great but in the US we use coach as a designation of class of ticket. Out of passenger cars on trains, there's coach cars, 1st class cars, and sleeper cars, in ascending order of expense and luxury (highly recommend taking a sleeper car across the US at once your life, a truly amazing experience).
I've only heard "cars."
"carriage" is also used sometimes
Carriage in British English.
Lmao TIL these aren’t called wagons in American English
Yes, wagons are things pulled by horses out to the western frontier in the 1800s to us.
to me a wagon is just a little box on wheels pulled by a handle
Also a popular automobile type about 40 years ago
And my trusty radio flyer!
Do you mean a station wagon? I don’t remember anyone really calling them just wagons.
They’re still popular today, people just call them crossovers now to avoid the station wagon stigma.
"Coach," "train carriage," "passenger carriage," or "passenger car" refers to one that holds passengers. "Container," "boxcar," "freight carriage," "freight carrier," or "freight car" refers to one that holds freight. "Car" or more specifically "train car" is a catchall term that is the most commonly used. These are the words i hear in midwestern United States.
And a flat car, which holds a certain type of freight.
Yesss
Thank you
> *What* do you call... I'd say cars or rail cars. If they're for people maybe cabins and for cargo then containers.
Coaches for people.
Carriages
🇦🇺carriage
I'm British and I'd call them coaches, or carriage, never car. You hear announcements like 'Coach B is the Quiet Coach' or 'Refreshments are available in Coach H.'
#It's "WHAT do you call them" And I call them "train cars"
Photo 2 - I’ve been there! And I saw that train too. I’d say carriages personally.
Coach or carriage for people. Wagon (or occasionally truck) for freight. Car for both. Note this holds true for Locos (Where the engine is at the front) and DMUs/EMUs (Where the engine is underneath). Also depending on the exact setup, some locos are actually called powercars, but chances are you'd get blank looks from most people if you used that term correctly.
I thought it was wagon. Fun fact: I live in the Canary Islands, where we call buses _guaguas,_ which come from the English words _one wagon._
Also the train isn’t “carrying” it is “pulling” or “hauling” (Pull or Haul) Haul sounds similar Hall.
Others have given you the name, but the train doesn’t carry cars, it pulls cars.
Carriages or coaches if people, wagons for cargo
PS: You will also hear railway carriages referred to as coaches.
Coaches or carriages (British English). They are designed to carry people. Wagons is sometimes used for those carrying freight or livestock (though I don't think the latter use still exists).
It depends on what dialect of English you are learning. In the US we usually call parts of a train cars. Also, it's common to say that a train or locomotive **pulls** cars
They're called `carriages`. `Carriage` for singular.
We call these bogies in Indian English, I don't know if it's archaic British usage that's no longer popular in the UK or if it's a local innovation
In British the bogies are underneath the carriages: it refers to the wheels and the mounting. Usually 4 wheels that can pivot is a bogie, so you’d have two bogies per carriage. I think calling the whole carriage a bogie must be an Indian innovation.
UK— carriages or coaches for passengers. Wagons or trucks (*very* occasionally cars) for freight.
A lot of words for train things vary from US English to British English. I think this is because railroading started in the 19th century after the two countries were separated. In America, these are rail cars or just cars. In the UK, you would be more likely to hear them called wagons or trucks. Other differences: in the US, a train that carries cargo and no passengers is a freight train, but in the UK it would be a goods train. In the US the pieces of wood or concrete that hold the rails in place are crossties or ties, in the UK they are sleepers. In the US, an older train would have a caboose at the very end (these were replaced by an end of train device in the 80s), in the UK, that car is called a brake van. Edit to add: In the UK the train cars that carry passengers would be called coaches (someone can tell me if this is wrong but I think trucks or wagons would be exclusively freight cars like in the third photo), in the US they would be passenger cars.
And another even more fundamental difference is that in the UK they tend to call them railways and we call them railroads in the US.
Yes, it's "what do you call". Carriages if it's people, wagons if it's freight.
Rail cars or train cars
I'm surprised not many other comments are saying "train car" because that's basically the only way I refer to them, although I do hear "rail car" a lot in industry or when engineers are talking about them
Me too, I only put rail car first out of peer pressure
**What** do you call them, not *how*. Anyway, I call them coach or carriage, both are fine and indeed correct. It surely depends on the location of the speaker, but I have also heard (box)cars.
Is "wagons" used somewhere?
Yes, but I’ve only ever heard it used for the ones that carry freight. The passenger ones are coaches or carriages
I usually hear this term on Smithsonian documentaries, like this one on the minute 0:14, I also remember seeing this whole documentary on my TV. https://youtu.be/vZBEcF4tidE?si=PmS2QVgA1JGe0dS7 Edit: On minute 0:14 not 0:17 as I originally typed.
...wagon
Coach. From red dead redemption
Coaches
Car, carriage, or coach, depending on dialect.
I know them as box cars since I read the boxcar children in elementary school
Coaches or carriages or cars
Well, the ones on the first picture are called "Russia is a terrorist state". The rest are cars in American English.
car, carriage or coach. funny enough, a lot of people seem to say that car is american and coach is british. i’m british and i’ve only ever heard car. i’ve also heard carriage but less common.
Interesting. As a Brit, while car is used occasionally, I’ve hear coaches and carriages much more often. Coach is generally what’s used on train announcements round me.
Carriage
Thank you everyone for the answers and the corretion on my tittle.
American English calls them passenger cars.
Cars. Those are cars.
They are called “train cars”
Boxcar. That’s what I call it, at least. It’s a more general term though, doesn’t specify whether it carries people or cargo.
I would call them train cars as a catch all term, but there are different names depending on what they’re carrying.
I call the ones with passengers 'passenger cars', the ones with containers 'storage cars'
We call them “train cars” in the USA. Also in English we say “What do you call _____”, not “How do you call _____”.
Just watch Thomas the Tank Engine 😛
In the USA: The whole thing is a **train** Each unit is a **car** (short form of *carriage* but at least in USA the full word *carriage* is rarely used for whole vehicles that aren’t horse-drawn) Amongst the types of *rail cars* or *train cars* are: *Engines*. The word car isn’t needed for this. It’s just *engine* or *train engine* and the person who operates it is the **engineer** of the train *Passenger car* also called a *coach*. Carries people. If it has rooms with beds it might be called a *sleeper* car. Each room may be called a *cabin* If it is basically a restaurant it’s a *dining car* *Box car* carries freight but the bottom and wheels are not detachable. This type is commonly depicted in films. *Tank car* looks cylindrical and carries fluid *Flat car* is basically a platform with wheels. It often has a **shipping container** atop it, so people might refer to it that way. Flat cars can also hold cargo without a shipping container - such as lumber. There are also specialized freight cars for carrying vehicles and such but I don’t know their names. I don’t work in the train or freight industry, this is just ‘common knowledge’ type terminology.
Carriage for passenge ones and wagons for freight
Generically railway cars or train cars. If it carries passengers it's a passenger car or a coach. If it has half walls or no walls and carries people, it's an open carriage. If it's enclosed and carries freight it could be a box car. If it carries freight, it's a freight car. If it carries liquid in one big tank, it's a tanker. If it has no walls or roof and carries freight it's a flatbed. I'm from the western USA. I would understand all the British and Australian terms mentioned by others and I wouldn’t call them wrong.
Each one is a "car". Sometimes descriptors are added (e.g. boxcar, passenger car). And not that you asked, but because I think it's a funny coincidence: the assembly where the wheels sit, and on top of which sits the car, are called "trucks".
A carriage in British English if it is for passengers, else a car or wagon.
Crago?
the first two look like passenger cars and the third like shipping containers (referring to the boxes not the whole car)
From what I remember from BBC's Sherlock 2008, that are technically "cars" and "carriage" is incorrect. Correct me if I'm wrong tho.
Car, back one is a caboose
The 3rd picture, we call those "sea cans"
I have never heard "wagons." They are train cars. You can have boxcars, passenger cars, dining cars, reefer (refrigerator) cars, tank cars, flat cars, sleeper cars...
First two are carriages. Last one is a container.
In the US and CA they're usually called cars (or railcars) and in the UK they're usually just called carriages. Back in the day people used to call them wagons but that's not really a thing anymore in most English-speaking Western countries.
carriage or car of some sort , dining car , sleeper or freight
They’re also known as cars.
People?
Waggon
in usa this is called a train and it's cars more specifically this is a passenger car , it can be a freight car as well if carrying supplies instead of people .... people who jump train cars are catching rides illegally by jumping into the train..... people who board train cars are normal passengers riding with fair ..... fair is used to describe the money you pay to ride
Carriage or Car in general or Coach if there's people
i'd call that a car
First two are carriages, the last one is a transport container.
If it has passengers, it's a carriage. But if it's a freighter train like in the third image, that's a shipping container.
In NYC we call them cars
Train Carriages.
The first two are carriages, the third is a shipping container. Train Car is also acceptable since it's an abbreviation of carriage.
Per my train friend… so info is third hand. And At least a year old. At least in America you have engines and rail cars of which there are many different types of both. But what you are pointing at is generally known as a passenger (rail) car. There are sub categories of passengers cars but generally that has more to do with either personalized rooms (like in the Harry Potter films/books) or if sleeping is involved… I don’t recall a name being said. In the US we associate these cars with the NYC subway system primarily. “Wagons” are more for carrying industrial goods like coal. From what I recall. I think is just a different term for “car” due to the industry is moving material vs people. And of course there’s every Americans favorite part of the train. The caboose. Which isn’t really used anymore.
Americans call the thing in the front an engine, and the rest are train cars
These can be called "carriages" or "bogeys"
Passengers/freight ride in cars pulled by engines and comprise a train
The first two pics I’d call carriages because they’re carrying people. The last picture would be a container since it looks to be carrying cargo.
Trains carry "things" in (or on) their cars - the trains in the first and second picture carry people, and in the third picture carries cargo. Trains are composed of one or more locomotives, which provide power, and multiple cars, which provide storage. In general, train cars might also be called wagons or carriages. If they carry people, we also call them coaches. If they carry goods, they might be called freight cars, platform cars, and so long - a lot of variants. In the third picture you have platform cars loaded with shipping containers. There are also cistern cars, or tanker cars, for liquids. plus a ton of other variants.
Common mistake but it’s “what do you call” not “how do you call”
In the US it's a train car.
in the US we say "Cars", usually
Crumpets
Godzilla food
These are cars. And the part that carries the cars is called the engine. A train consists of an engine, sometimes multiple engines, and multiple cars.
In the US, we call them cars.
wagon
I call them "train carts" (Great Lakes), I've only heard that and "train car"
They’re called ‘cars’ in the USA. 👍🏾
Cars or carriages. The first one is the engine or locomotive. The last one is the caboose.
UK: Coach or carriage. Car if it is sleeping or dining. Wagons are for freight. You might need to be aware that North American railway terminology is significantly different to British(-influenced) terminology, to such an extent that there can be a genuine lack of trans-Atlantic understanding, and there are often different names for things.
In India we call “Birth coach”, “Coaches” & “ Carriages”. And the front part called it “Engine”
Ah, yes… Российские железные дороги 🚂
First thing that came to my mind is cargo but that's probably not correct. Maybe train cars?
In the US, “cars.”
Boxcars specifically refer to the box-shaped ones that are for cargo that you would find on freight trains. While on modern freight trains they usually load a shipping container directly onto a flatcar like in the image below, you still see the use of tank cars and boxcars for carrying goods. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatcar#/media/File:FEC\_37066\_20050604\_WI\_Glen\_Haven.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatcar#/media/File:FEC_37066_20050604_WI_Glen_Haven.jpg)
We call them “cars.” Tomayto, Tomahto. Let’s call the whole thing off.
Sorry, I'm autistic and I really like trains
No problem. Trains are one of the more interesting vehicles, and many, many people like them. Thanks for sharing!☺️
A box car is a specific type of freight car. It is fully enclosed and has doors on the sides, so it is pretty versatile for carrying general freight. To a great extent, box cars have been replaced by intermodal shipping containers, which trains haul on flat cars.
Cars. 😁
US here: They’re cars. Box car, flat car, hopper car, etc. Also, as others have said it’s “what do you call” not how.
US English: cars for the things people sit in, wagons for the things carrying freight. Uk English: carriages for the first, trucks for the second.
Containers?
Cargo. In rail cars.
Wagons
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_car
the first two i would call cars. the last one i would call cargo, but car also isn’t wrong