wagon/car/coach/carriage

[milan2003_07]

Today when I had a class with students we were discussing railways and I've remembered and taught them how to call a train section. There four possibilities that I know and I'd like to clarify the meanings that you use today in BE and AE:

1. Wagon - I've found in my Collins Cobuild dictionary that wagons transport different goods, not people. The dictionary also offers a synonym in AE: freight car. I've made a conclusion that wagons aren't used to speak about transporting passengers.

2. Car - is used in AE to talk about a section of a train. in BE the same meaning is conveyed by "carriage". in BE the word "car" is also used to speak about a train's section aimed at a particular purpose, like "dining car", "sleeping car".

3. Coach - in BE means the same as "carriage". A coach is a section of a train carrying passengers. If so, is there any difference between "carriage" and "coach"?

What about these distinctions between BE and AE? Are they followed or not?

 

[Tarheel]

You are probably right about the British English/American English differences.

I think you meant to say you taught them WHAT to call the various railway cars.

 

[milan2003_07]

You are probably right about the British English/American English differences.

I think you meant to say you taught them WHAT to call the various railway cars.

I didn't actually teach them what to call railway cars. I mean I didn't intend to, but this question arose during the lesson today. I'm interested in this topic myself, too as I remembered about the differences.

Can we use "wagon" in the meaning of a train section for passengers or it's applied only to freight trains (goods trains)?
I'm also interested why we need two different words describing the same type of section (carriage/coach)?

 

[Tarheel]

The passenger cars are called "coaches", I think. The freight cars have various names according to their structure and function.

 

[tedmc]

Wagons refer to coaches carrying goods and pulled by animals in the old days. The term is not common nowadays though you hear certain cars being called station wagons.

 

[PeterCW]

In BrE it is a mixture. You need to go to a rail forum rather than a language one if you want details.

As a general rule in the UK Underground trains have cars, other passenger trains mostly have carriages.

 

[teechar]

Today, when I had a class discussed with my students we were discussing railways and I've remembered and taught them how what to call a train section.

The present perfect is wrong, because the class is over.

 

[milan2003_07]

The present perfect is wrong, because the class is over.

Yes, indeed. I know this rule. Anyway, thank you for pointing it out. I will be more careful next time.

 

[milan2003_07]

I'm a bit surprised that sometimes different words are used to designate a train section. In the Russian language, for instance, we use the same word for any kind of a train section no matter if it's a passenger train or a freight train. It really interests me why there are several words for this in English and why there are differences between BE and AE in this case.

 

[Tarheel]

There are numerous differences between the two variants. The best explanation I can give is history and geography.