Introduction
There are four principal types of rolling stock:
- Locomotives, Steam, diesel or electric;
- Freight cars or wagons;
- Coaches, carriages or passenger cars and
- Multiple units.
This site has a number of pages that describe the different types of trains and their equipment.
Rolling Stock Information Index
Below is a list of various links to pages on rolling stock and its equipment:
Hydrail Comes of Age - An article in Rail Engineer on the progress of hydrogen powered trains since the first hydrogen—based locomotive appeared in the US in 2010 to the end of 2017.
Is Hydrogen the Answer? A presentation by David Shirres to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Glasgow on 19th April 2018.
Train Equipment –
how trains are provided with "hotel power", i.e. compressed air,
heating, air conditioning, battery charging, controls etc. with diagrams
Wheels and Bogies – how the wheels sit on the rails, bogie parts, suspension systems and the types of steering available for bogies.
Brakes Glossary – part names for the brake system and a brief description of what they do.
PBL 90 Electro-Pneumatic Brake Control System – the standard European electro-pneumatic brake system
Brakes - How they work on North American Freight Trains – a description by Al Krug, who makes it all sound so easy.
Train Brakes - a simple system description with even simpler schematics.
Electro-Pneumatic Brakes – a simple description of the principles of the systems, including PTC.
The Vacuum Brake –
a simple description of the principles as formerly used on UK railways
and now limited to preserved stock, steam locomotives and some overseas
railways.
Coach Parts – A diagram of a locomotive-hauled railway coach with names of parts and equipment.
AC Electric Locomotive – in a diagram with a glossary covering the part names.
High Speed Trains – a page with links to a number of sites with specialist information in France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK.
Diesel Locomotives –
a page describing the development and design of diesel locomotives,
both in Europe and the US, with diagrams and explanations of the
principal parts of the diesel locomotive and links to other sites with
technical information related to diesel locomotives.
Steam vs. Diesel –
this article, written by US locomotive engineer Al Krug in a series of
newsgroup posts, tries to explain the power questions that show how
diesels are more efficient than steam locomotives.
Rolling Stock Manufacture – how railway rolling stock is designed, manufactured, assembled, tested and shipped.
Multiple Operation of North American Diesel Locomotives –
a description of the standard AAR (Association of American Railroads)
arrangements prepared by Jonathan Hollahan. Additional information on
diesel locomotive operation is included.
Multi-Deck Trains –
this page looks at railways which use vehicles with more than one level
and show some examples of how they have evolved. Both passenger and
freight examples are included, with diagrams and links to photos.
Steam Glossary – an explanation of its design, operation, maintenance and some history in glossary format.
Train Maintenance –
an essential ingredient in the successful running of a railway is a
well maintained system. Train maintenance is very important in this
respect and this page outlines the methods and systems used in train
maintenance.
Wheel Arrangements – a description, with diagrams, of the different notations used for steam and non-steam locomotives.