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  7. Coil Car
Equipment

Coil Car

Definition

A specialized gondola or flatcar with cradles, troughs, or hoods designed to securely transport steel coils without damage to the coil's edge or surface. Coil cars prevent coils from rolling and protect them from moisture. They are a primary equipment type for serving steel mills and automotive stamping plants.

Related Terms

Gondola

An open-top car with fixed sides and ends, used for heavy bulk commodities such as scrap metal, steel coils, pipe, and coal. Gondolas are loaded from the top and typically unloaded by crane, magnet, or rotary dumper. Coil gondolas have a curved floor to cradle steel coils securely.

Flatcar

A railcar with a flat deck and no sides or roof, used for oversized or heavy loads such as machinery, lumber, steel beams, and military equipment. Flatcars include standard, bulkhead, center-beam, and well-car variants. They are also the base platform for trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) intermodal service.

Boxcar

An enclosed rectangular railcar with sliding side doors, used for transporting general commodities that require protection from weather, including packaged goods, paper, lumber, and auto parts. Boxcars are the most versatile car type in the fleet and are used across virtually all industries. They are available in standard and high-cube configurations.

More in Equipment

GondolaChassisDistributed Power UnitCouplerFlatcarWell Car