Railway Terminology: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 12:14, 11 March 2025

Some of the prominent terms related to railway infrastructure and layout are:

Rail

Rails are long, sturdy struts of metal that rail vehicle wheels are designed to roll over.

Sleeper

Sleepers are wooden or concrete slabs placed under two rails to keep them parallel and fixated.

Ballast

Ballast is gravel placed under rails and sleepers to distribute the weight of trains and soften vibrations.

Track

Tracks are structures of rails, sleepers and ballast designed to safely guide trains along predetermined paths. Tracks can span vast distances, and typically end either with switches , or buffer stops.

Buffer Stop

Buffer stops are barriers placed at track ends, designed to prevent trains from derailing .

Yard

Yards are cascading sets of parallel tracks, used to sort and store trains . Yards are often designed so that their tracks converge on both ends and at least one track is clear at all times, to enable maneuvering. On the schematic station map , every yard has its own letter designation .

Wye

Wyes are triangular track layouts resulting from tracks from three different directions converging together. They are useful for turning trains around.

Balloon Loop

Balloon loops are turning tracks that merge back to themselves. They are useful for turning trains around.

Double-track

Double-tracks are pairs of parallel one-way tracks, running in opposite directions.

Passing Siding

Passing sidings are pieces of tracks designed to allow passing of two trains going in opposite directions on a mostly single-track route.

Catenary

Catenary is the infrastructure carrying overhead wires over the tracks, for powering wire-electric rail vehicles .

Depot

Depots are garage-like buildings that can house one or more rail vehicles. They are used for vehicle servicing and storage.

Roundhouse

Roundhouses are high-capacity, round-shaped depots that are accessed by a turntable .

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 <translate>
 <!--T:1-->
-These are some of the prominent infrastructure or layout terms:
+Some of the prominent terms related to railway infrastructure and layout are:
-<b>Tracks:</b>
+==== Rail ====
-Tracks are two parallel steel rails set on wooden or concrete sleepers, spanning vast distances, guiding {{pll|Rail Vehicle Types|trains}} along their predetermined paths. Tracks typically end either with {{pll|Switches & Switch Signs|switches}}, or buffer stops (end of line barriers).
+Rails are long, sturdy struts of metal that {{pll|Rail Vehicle Types|rail vehicle}} wheels are designed to roll over.
-<!--T:2-->
+==== Sleeper ====
-<b>Yard:</b>
+Sleepers are wooden or concrete slabs placed under two rails to keep them parallel and fixated.
+==== Ballast ====
+Ballast is gravel placed under rails and sleepers to distribute the weight of trains and soften vibrations.
+==== Track ====
+Tracks are structures of rails, sleepers and ballast designed to safely guide {{pll|Rail Vehicle Types|trains}} along predetermined paths. Tracks can span vast distances, and typically end either with {{pll|Switches & Switch Signs|switches}}, or buffer stops.
+==== Buffer Stop ====
+Buffer stops are barriers placed at track ends, designed to prevent trains from {{pll|Derailing|derailing}}.
+==== Yard ====<!--T:2-->
 <!--T:3-->
-Cascading set of {{pll|Track ID Signs|parallel tracks}}, used to sort and store trains. The yard tracks often converge on both ends and contain at least one track that is kept clear at all times, to enable maneuvering. On the schematic {{pll|Station Map|station map}}, every yard has its own letter designation.
+Yards are cascading sets of parallel tracks, used to {{pll|Shunting|sort and store trains}}. Yards are often designed so that their tracks converge on both ends and at least one track is clear at all times, to enable maneuvering. On the schematic {{pll|Station Map|station map}}, every yard has its own {{pll|Track ID Signs|letter designation}}.
+==== Wye ====
 <!--T:4-->
-<b>Wye:</b><br/>Tracks converging from three directions, forming a triangle shape. Useful for turning trains around.
+Wyes are triangular track layouts resulting from tracks from three different directions converging together. They are useful for turning trains around.
-<!--T:5-->
+==== Balloon Loop ====<!--T:5-->
-<b>Balloon loop:</b>
 <!--T:6-->
-Turning track that merges back to itself. Useful for turning trains around.
+Balloon loops are turning tracks that merge back to themselves. They are useful for turning trains around.
-<!--T:7-->
+==== Double-track ====<!--T:7-->
-<b>Double-track:</b>
 <!--T:8-->
-Two one-way tracks running next to each other in opposite directions.
+Double-tracks are pairs of parallel one-way tracks, running in opposite directions.
-<!--T:9-->
+==== Passing Siding ====<!--T:9-->
-<b>Passing loop:</b>
 <!--T:10-->
-Side track designed to allow passing of two trains on a single-track railway.
+Passing sidings are pieces of tracks designed to allow passing of two trains going in opposite directions on a mostly single-track route.
-<!--T:11-->
+==== Catenary ====<!--T:11-->
-<b>Catenary:</b>
 <!--T:12-->
-Infrastructure designed to carry overhead wires over the tracks, for {{pll|Electric Powersource|powering electric rail vehicles}}.
+Catenary is the infrastructure carrying overhead wires over the tracks, for powering {{pll|Electric Powersource|wire-electric rail vehicles}}.
-<!--T:13-->
+==== Depot ====<!--T:13-->
-<b>Depot:</b>
 <!--T:14-->
-Garage-like building that can house one or more rail vehicles. Used for vehicle {{pll|Servicing Overview|servicing}} and storage.
+Depots are garage-like buildings that can house one or more rail vehicles. They are used for vehicle {{pll|Servicing Overview|servicing}} and storage.
-<!--T:15-->
+==== Roundhouse ====<!--T:15-->
-<b>Roundhouse:</b>
 <!--T:16-->
-High-capacity, round-shaped depot that is accessed by a {{pll|Turntable|turntable}}.
+Roundhouses are high-capacity, round-shaped depots that are accessed by a {{pll|Turntable|turntable}}.
-Sloba note - buffer stop
 </translate>
-{{See also|Track ID Signs|Turntable|Switches & Switch Signs|Station Map|Speed Limit Signs}}
 [[Category:Infrastructure|1]]