Common Railroad Terms and Acronyms

Bond
Certificate of debt issued by a government or corporation.

Box Cars 
Boxcars are general-purpose vehicles that carry products like packaged foods, paper, machinery, and just about anything you might load in a dry van truck. Some boxcars are refrigerated and carry fresh and frozen foods or any products requiring temperature control. The specifications below illustrate rail car cubic and weight carrying capacity.

Brownfield
Commercial or industrial site that has real or perceived contamination.

Building trains
Assembling sorted cars in proper sequence for outbound departure.

Bulk train
A train made up of a single "bulk" commodity and car type.

Business incentives
Financial, tax, and technical assistance for business expansion/location.

Certified site
An industrial site certified through the Iowa Economic Development Authority, ready for quick development.

Chassis
Wheeled frame that moves intermodal containers on highways.

COFC (Container on Flatcar)
A container transported on a rail flatcar.

Containers
20‑ or 40‑foot international containers leased or owned by ocean carriers.

Cross dock
Facility unloading from truck or rail into another outbound mode with little/no storage.

Cross overs
Track that joins two main line tracks.

Drayage
Short‑distance trucking at the beginning/end of an intermodal move.

First mile
Movement of goods from the origin to a freight hub.

Flat Cars
Flatcars are often used for finished machinery, transformers, tractors, steel plate, steel coils, logs, pipe, and other products that may not be able to be loaded easily within a boxcar. Flatcars can have a center beam for strapping finished lumber, wall board, or building products. Bulkhead flatcars often carry pulp logs cut into 5-foot lengths that move to paper mills, and can also be used to move pipe or other products that might shift if a bulkhead was not available to stabilize the load. General purpose flatcars often carry machinery that is tied down to stabilize the load. Flatcars come in a wide variety of lengths and configurations.

Gondola cars
Gondola cars are an open top car with a flat bottom. Cars can reach up to 65-feet long and sides range between four to eight feet high. Commodities that typically move in gondola cars include sand, ore, gravel, and scrap.

Hazmat
Hazardous material that can corrode, explode, ignite, or create fumes.

Hopper Cars
These bulk utility cars come in several sizes and configurations. Some have covers to keep cargo dry in transit. Most hopper cars have two to four compartments and are typically loaded from the top. Many hopper cars have a bottom gate allowing them to dump product using gravity to unload the product. Open hopper cars move bulk products that are not affected by weather such as scrap, coal, stone, slag, gravel, and sand.

Hot shot
A high‑priority train.

Hump yard
A yard where rail cars are sorted via gravity.

Industrial park
A business development area that may or may not be rail‑served.

Intermodal
Transportation involving both rail and truck.

Intermodal terminal
Terminal for container transfer between trains and trucks.

Last mile
Movement from distribution node to the end user.

Location assistance
IEDA’s database of available buildings and sites.

Logistics
Managing movement of goods from origin to consumption.

Long‑haul trucking
Truck transport beyond a 250‑mile radius.

Loop track
Circular/oval track used to load, unload, or store unit trains.

Mainline
A principal railroad artery.

Manifest train
Train made up of mixed car types.

Passing track
A track that allows one train to pass another.

Power
Another term for locomotive.

Rail park
Industrial park served by rail.

Railroad class
Railroad classification system (Class I, II, III).

Reefer
Refrigerated railcar.

Revenue bond
Bond backed by revenue from a specific project.

Run‑through
Point‑to‑point train movement without scheduled stops for adding/removing cars.

Shortline railroad
Railroad under ~100 miles that originates/terminates freight.

Shuttle train
50–55 cars loaded at one location and bound for the same destination.

Siding
Auxiliary track connected at both ends to the main track.

Special assessment district
Area taxed differently from the surrounding jurisdiction.

Spur track / stub in
Short dead‑end track to access facilities or store equipment.

Switching
Moving cars between tracks or positions.

Switching railroad
Shortline railroad focused on switching for other carriers.

Sustainable development
Development that preserves natural resources

Tank Cars
Tank cars are highly specialized to carry bulk liquids. Primary types of tank cars include general service, heat coil and insulated cars, high-pressure tank cars, acid and liquid sulfur cars, and crude oil cars. These cars are typically privately owned, and carry a wide range of chemicals, gases, fertilizer, and food products such as syrups, juices, and other beverage products.

Tare
Weight of the empty container itself.

Team track
Track open for public freight loading/unloading.

Terminal
Railroad facility for freight handling and train assembly.

TOFC (Trailer on Flatcar)
Semitruck trailer transported on a flatcar.

Ton‑mile
Movement of one ton of freight one mile.

Trackage rights
One carrier's right to use another's track.

Transload facility
Facility transferring freight between truck and rail.

Turnout
Track arrangement enabling a diverging movement.

Unit train
100–130 cars loaded at the same point and destined for the same point.

Yard
System of auxiliary tracks for classification, assembly, storage, and repair.

3PL
Third‑party logistics company.

AAR
Association of American Railroads.

ASLRRA
American Short Line and Regional Rail Association.

CDC (Community Development Corporation)
A nonprofit focused on community development.

IANA
Intermodal Association of North America.

IEDA
Iowa Economic Development Authority.

LCL
Less‑than‑carload freight.

LTL
Less‑than‑truckload freight.