Types of railway cars for rail transportation:

HOUSE RAILWAGON

The house railwagon is a rail car intended for transporting cargoes requiring to be protected from atmospheric precipitation (snow, rain). The standard house railwagon is equipped with sliding doors on its sides that are used for loading/unloading. Optionally, the house railcar may be equipped with sunlight hatches and vent holes.

• All-purpose house railcars are intended for transporting packaged cargoes, piece cargoes and bulky cargoes. Due to special attachments these railcars may be used for transporting people.
• Special-purpose railcars are used for transporting cattle and poultry, light-duty vehicles, rolled paper, rolled and piled cold-roll steel, apatite concentrate and other types of cargo.

OPEN RAILWAGON

The open railwagon is an open-type, roofless high-sided railcar intended for transporting bulked cargoes (ore, coal, flux metal, timber etc.), containers and other cargoes not requiring to be protected from atmospheric precipitation.

The open railwagon has no roof. This makes the cargo loading/unloading process more convenient. The open railcar may be equipped with discharge hatches on the floor, hinged side doors, or it may have a dumb body.

Open railwagons come:

• All-purpose ones equipped with discharge hatches on the floor, or gangway inward doors (or without gangway doors);
• Special-purpose ones equipped with a body without hatches or doors (dumb body) that are used for transporting bulky cargoes only, through closed routes and being unloaded in railcar dumpers.

FLAT RAILWAGON

Four-axle flat railwagon

Flat railwagon with fixing attachments for the transportation of rolled metal

The flat railwagon is an open-type railcar intended for transporting long, piece and bulked cargoes and equipment that do not require protection from weather impact. This type of railcars is also used for container transportation (transportation of cargoes in containers).

Flat railcars are divided into all-purpose ones (for transporting various types of cargoes) and special-purpose ones (for transporting certain types of cargoes).

All-purpose flat railwagons have a robust steel welded frame with a wood or wood and metal decking and metal swing-down side and end walls. The end walls in the open position serve a ramp for self-loading of wheeled machinery. It is allowed to transport cargoes both distributed and concentrated in the middle of the flat railcar (up to forty-five tons on 3-meter long flat railcars and up to sixty tons on 4.3-meter long flat railcars).

HOPPER RAILWAGON

Grain hopper railwagon

The hopper railwagon is a self-unloading hopper-type railcar intended for the transportation and haulage of bulked cargoes: coal, ore, cement, grain and ballast aggregates. The body of the railcar is of funnel form. There are discharge hatches in the lower part of the railcar, through which the cargo being unloaded is discharged. There are two types of hopper railwagons: open-top hopper railwagon and close-top hopper railwagon. Close-top hopper railcars are used for cargoes that require to be protected from atmospheric precipitation. Open-top hopper railcars are used for cargoes that may be easily dried without deleterious consequences. One also distinguishes between hopper railcars that are unloaded onto the track and those that are unloaded to the side of the track. Both may have discharge hatches opened mechanically or manually. According to their design, hopper railcars are made with a body having end walls with a slope of 41-60° to let the cargo to be discharged by gravity, and hoppers with discharge hatches that open as the cargo is unloaded.

Open-top hopper railcars are used for the transportation of hot agglomerate and pellets, coal, peat and coke. The body liner of hopper railcars, which are intended for hot cargoes, does not have a rigid connection with the load-bearing frame of side and end walls. This eliminates buckling of the body, which may be caused by high temperature, and provides an easy replacement in case of damage.

Close-top hopper railcars are used for the transportation of grain, cement, carbon black (soot). The cargo is discharge onto the track. The discharge hatches are open manually. Close-top hopper railcars that are discharged to the side of the track with the use of compressed air are used for the transportation of mineral fertilizers.

BIN RAILWAGON

The bin railwagon is a closed railcar used for hauling bulked cargoes (flour, grain, crashed stone), non-aggressive petroleum products (viscous petroleum bitumen and petroleum coke). Bin railcars are equipped with a vessel for the cargo and a device providing loading and unloading the cargo in bulk.