Evansville Western Railway

AAR:	Association of American Railroads
Bad order:	Taking a railcar out of service for repair. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines must be adhered to by all railroads. All railcars, as well as locomotives, are inspected for safety violations; if a defect is detected, the car is tagged to prevent further line-of-road movement until necessary repairs are made. Most repairs are made by Mechanical Department personnel in Car Shop areas; some defects can be corrected in the train yard or along line-of-road. "Bad orders" can create unexpected delays. The PAL operates Car Shops at Louisville and Paducah, KY.
Bill of Lading:	Legal document which authorizes a railroad to move a loaded railcar; in effect, the contract between the shipper and the railroad covering movement of the railcar, whether empty or loaded.
Boxcar:	An enclosed car used for general service and especially for lading which must be protected from the weather.
Branch Line:	A line serving one or more stations beyond the point of junction with the main line or another branch line.
Car Pool:	Assignment method of keeping a customer supplied with the same railcars.
Class I Carrier:	Major line haul freight railroads with operating revenue in excess of $277.7 million. For North America, these are: Burlington Northern (BNSF), Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific (CPRS), CSX Transportation (CSXT), Kansas City Southern (KCS), Norfolk Southern (NS), and the Union Pacific (UP). In Mexico, the Ferrocarril Mexicano and the TFM qualify.
COFC:	Container On Flat Car. Also referred to as an "intermodal or piggyback" shipment. Note: The Paducah & Louisville Railway does not currently handle TOFC or COFC shipments.
Collect:	Indicates freight charges will be billed by destination railroad. If the receiver has credit with the destination railroad, the railcar can be delivered upon arrival; otherwise, payment must be made prior to delivery.
Commodity:	The product being shipped.
CP:	"Constructive Placement" means that a car has been offered to a customer but the customer is unable to accept delivery. Charges can be assessed unless it is a private car placed on private property.
Crossing:	An intersection of two tracks. (Normal crossing angles are 90̊, 45̊, and 30̊, but others can be used when required by situation.
Crossover:	Two switches on parallel tracks that allow movement of railcars and/or engines from one track to the other.
Cut of cars:	Any number of railcars in a group.
Demurrage:	The monetary penalty for not releasing a car before the free time is up. The PAL assesses demurrage charges based upon criteria outlined in public tariff PAL 9000. Privately owned or leased cars are not subject to demurrage when spotted on private tracks.
Derail:	A track safety device designed to guide a car off the rails at a selected spot as a means of protection against collisions or other accidents; commonly used on spurs or sidings to prevent cars from fouling other track.
Diversion:	The changing of a destination of a railcar by the shipper while it is in route. Charges apply. ( Do not confuse with "reconsignment")
Flat Car:	An open car without sides, ends, or top; used principally for hauling lumber, heavy machinery, etc.
FRA:	Federal Railroad Administration
Gage (of Track):	The distance between the heads of the rails, measured at a point 5/8 inch below the top of the rails. (Standard gage is 4'8-1/2")
Gondola Car:	A freight car with sides and ends but without a top covering. Gondola cars a re sometimes distinguished as high side, low side, drop end, drop bottom and general service. A covered gondola is one which has been equipped with some form of removable cover which can be placed over the lading to protect it from weather exposure in transit; it is used primarily for loading sheet steel in coils without the necessity of packing.
Hazmat:	Hazardous Materials. Such loads are identified and labeled by the government and require special handling, paperwork, railcar types, etc.
High-Wide:	Oversized (height or width exceeding standards) or overweight loads. NOTE: carloads not exceeding 11'4" in height from the top of the railcar's bottom (15'6" above rail for loaded railcar) or which are less than 10'8" wide are usually considered "Standard". Standard maximum gross weight for the PAL is 163,000 pounds per car or car capacity, whichever is the least. The origin carrier should be contacted if there is any question about the size or weight of a shipment.
Hopper (covered):	A hopper car with a permanent roof, roof hatches, and bottom openings for unloading. Used for carrying cement and other bulk commodities.
Hopper (open):	An open top car with hinged trap doors and inclined floors which permits quick unloading of bulk commodities.
Hump Yard:	A switching yard built on an incline where, after movements by the engine, the cars are shunted by gravitational pull to their destination in a yard.
Idler car:	An empty flat car coupled to one or more railcars carrying an overhanging load.
Industrial Carrier:	A short railroad line owned or controlled by one or more of the principal industries served by it. (Also called an Industrial Line or Industrial Road.)
Interchange Track:	A designated track on which various cars are delivered or received from one railroad to another. Track is usually “shared” by two or more railroads.
Lead Track:	A connecting track, specifically the portion of track between a main track and the switch to a yard track (s) or between the main track and a spur serving an industry. A yard lead is the portion of track between the yard tracks and the yard ladder, used to assemble trains; in theory, the yard lead should be as long as the longest train entering yard.
Line of road:	Refers to tracks between terminals.
Local Carrier:	“Also known as a Short Line Railroad” - Line haul railroads falling below the Regional criteria plus Switching and Terminal railroads.
Main Line:	That part of a railroad exclusive of train yards or terminals, interchange tracks, branch lines, storage tracks or scale tracks, sidings or side tracks or spurs, and leads.
Main Track:	Could refer to either the main track of a main line or branch line. A designated track upon which trains are operated by timetable, train order, or both, or the use of which is governed by block signals.
Mode:	The type of transportation (i.e., rail, truck, ship, barge, air, or pipeline. Note: Intermodal refers to a combination of modes utilized to transport commodity from origin to destination.
Mother/Slug:	Power Unit/Power Mate; two locomotive units operating in tandem, both of which are equipped with traction motors (which furnish the tractive power to the rail, physically moving the train along the tracks); only one of the locomotive bodies is equipped with diesel engine and main generator which provide the electric power for traction motors in both units. The crew can operate the train from the cab of either unit. The Power Unit ("MOTHER") can operate independently of the Power Mate("SLUG"); the Power Mate cannot operate independently of the Power Unit.
Per diem:	The daily fee charged by a railroad when a railcar owned by that railroad is on another railroad's track.
Prepaid:	The origin railroad will bill the customer at the time the railcar is shipped. Industry standard requires payment of the freight bill within 15 days of date of mailing.
Reconsignment:	The changing of the cosignee after the railcar has reached the terminal area of its destination.
Regional Carrier:	A non-Class I carrier which operates over 350 miles of road and/or earns revenue between $40 million and the Class I threshold.
Repair Track (RIP):	A track used for railcar repairs. Also a Rip Track, a repair track used for minor repairs of cars, or spur or siding with facilities for Repair In Place maintenance of railcars.
Reporting marks:	The owner initials painted on the locomotive or railcar (Railcars owned by the PAL bear the reporting marks "PAL" or "PALX" followed by number identification.
Right-of-Way:	The property owned by a railroad over which tracks have been laid. (Also known as "roadway")
Route/Reporting:	The legal direction as to exactly how a railcar will move from origin to destination. The alpha code assigned to each railroad the car will move over, along with junction city if more than one railroad is involved, is included in the "route" for each movement.
Side Track:	A track adjacent to the main track (usually parallel to the main) which is used for purposes other than for meeting and passing trains. A side track can also be used as an “Industry Track,” “Team Track,” or “House Track.” A side track can connect at one or both ends to the main track. A siding that is owned or leased by an industry is called a “Private Siding.”
Siding:	An auxiliary track along the main track (usually parallel to the main and connected to the main track at both ends); it is used to permit other trains to pass. A siding can also be referred to as a “Passing Track” or “Run Around.”
Spur or Spur Track:	A one-ended, or stub, track extending out from a main or other track. Spurs most often terminate at a industrial facilities and are often privately owned and referred to as “Industry Spur” or “Industry Track.”
STB:	Surface Transportation Board and the federal government's railroad regulatory body.
STCC:	"Standard Transportation Commodity Code" is a 7-digit number assigned to each particular commodity. An additional 7-digit number is assigned to hazardous commodities. It is cross-referenced alphabetically and numerically in a national tariff publication. The STCC number must be shown on all bills of lading.
Storage Track:	A track on which cars are placed when not in service. Storage tracks can be designated side tracks or specific tracks in train yards or on private property as designated by industry. A storage track for cars needing to be weighed is referred to as a “scale track.”
Stub Track:	A track connected at one end only. Could refer to a spur or a side track.
Switch:	A connection between two lines of track to permit cars or trains to pass from one track to the other track.
Switching:	Indicates the movement of railcars into or out of trains and/or industries.
Tank Car:	A rail car used for carrying liquids — such as food products and chemicals.
Team Track:	A track located on railroad property where anyone can load or unload a railcar without charge. Restrictions may apply; check with Marketing Department.
Terminal:	Facilities provided by a railroad at a terminus or at any intermediate point on its line for the handling of passengers or freight, and for the breaking up, making up, forwarding, and/or servicing of trains and interchanging with connecting carriers. Also referred to as a “Switching Yard” and can include a “Hump Yard.”
Terminal Dwell Time:	The average time a car resides at the specified terminal location, expressed in hours. The measurement begins with a customer release, received interchange, or train arrival event, and ends with a customer placement (actual or constructive), delivered or offered in interchange, or train departure event.
TOFC:	Trailer On Flat Car. Also referred to as an "intermodal or piggyback" shipment. Note: The Paducah & Louisville Railway does not currently handle TOFC or COFC shipments.
Track:	The space between the rails and space of not less than 4 feet outside of each rail.
Train Speed:	Measures the line-haul movement between terminals and is calculated by dividing train-miles by total hours operated.
Transit Time:	The time it takes for a railcar to move between cities. Most often this does not include time at terminals.
Unit Train:	Refers to the movement of 25 or more carloads of one commodity at one time from origin to destination.
Welded Rail:	Sections of railroad rail welded — rather than bolted — into lengths, normally at least one-fourth mile long.
Wye:	Three switches arranged at the corners of a triangle; track forms a “Y” which leads from a main line and is used in lieu of a turntable for turning engines, railcars, and trains around.
Yard or Train Yard:	A system of tracks utilized within a defined area utilized by the railroad company for making up trains, storing cars, and other purposes. Many times the yard includes “ladder tracks,” or a series of tracks or sidings parallel to each other with a set of linked switches for access. A yard’s “Receiving Track” is used for arriving trains. Note: “Serving Yard” is the train yard where rail cars are made ready (switched out and lined up) for the train --- usually a local or a switch engine --- which services an industry. (Also see Hump Yard, Terminal, and Lead Track.)