Customer Glossary T-Z
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T
- Tank Car
A car, the body of which consists of a tank for carrying liquids.
- Tap Line
A short railroad operated for the delivery of the output of some individual industry to truck lines.
- Tare Weight
(a) The weight of a container and the material used for packing,
(b) As applied to a car/trailer, the weight of the car/trailer exclusive of its Contents.
- Tariff
A legal listing of rates used when moving regulated traffic by rail.
- TDCC
Transportation Data Coordinating Committee – a set of standards for electronic communication of billing information between carriers and the shipping community.
- Team Track
A track on which cars are placed for the use of the public in loading or unloading freight. Track is owned by the railroad.
- Terminal
Facilities provided by a railway at a terminal or at an intermediate point on its line for the handling of passengers or freight; and for the breaking up, making up, forwarding and servicing trains, and interchanging with other carriers.
- Terminal Charge
A charge made for services performed at terminals.
- Through Rate
A rate applicable through from point of origin to destination.
- Timetable
A schedule of the movement of trains.
- Track
The rails and ties over which engines and cars move.
- TOFC
Trailer on a flat car. Transportation of a highway trailer on a railroad flat car.
- Trailer
The unit of a tractor-trailer combination in which freight is carried. A trailer rides on the rail flatcar without the tractor. Trailer refers to vans and containers.
- Train Block
Trains are made up of train blocks each with a unique destination on the route of the train and having one or more pick up locations.
- TRAIN II
Tele Rail Automated Information Network - the AAR computer serves as the hub of a north American telecommunications network providing a wide variety of services. Member railroads use it to send millions of events to the AAR to maintain their online database, as well as for online inquiry into that database.
More importantly, member roads use it to communicate with each other or with major rail customers. Railroad to railroad communications include waybill data exchanges, consist data, and administrative messages. Railroad to customer communications include CLM. This advance information on cars en route to your road allows for earlier preparation for moving the cars; the TRAIN II network plays a vital role in the welfare of modern railroads.
- Transload
To physically transfer product from one transportation vehicle to another.
- Tri-Level
A freight car, constructed to carry automobiles, that has three levels or decks.
- Trip Plan
A route defined by train blocks and trains, assigned to cars to move them from origin to destination according to a plan defined by the Operating Department.
- Trucks
An assembly under each end of freight cars which consists of wheels, springs, axels, journal boxes, truck sides, brake rigging, etc.
U-V
- UMLER
Universal Machine Language Equipment Register - a computer readable file of vital statistics for each railroad car in service. It applies to all railroads, types of cars and data processing machines.
- Unit Trains
Unit trains are freight trains moving large tonnages of single bulk products between two points. Unloaded on arrival and returned promptly for another load, such trains cut costs by eliminating intermediate yarding and switching.
- Vessel's Manifest
Statement of vessel's cargo, revenue, consignee etc.
- Volume Rate
A rate applicable in connection with specified volume of freight.
W-X-Y-Z
- Waybill
A document covering a shipment and showing the forwarding and receiving station, the names of consignor and consignee, the car initials and number, the routing, the description and weight of the commodity, instructions for special services, the rate, total charges, advances and waybill reference for previous services, and the amount prepaid.
- Work Order Document
A written description of the work to be done by a crew on a given train or job.
- Yard
A system of tracks within defined limits, whether or not part of a terminal, designed for switching services, over which movements not authorized by time-tables or by train order may be made, subject to prescribed signals, rules and regulations.
- Yard Block
A name given to the grouping of cars in yard which match a set of parameters defining this type of traffic.
- Yardmaster
An individual responsible for the direction of the switching functions performed in a yard.
- ZTS
Zone Track Spot - a zone is a numeric designation for a yard or a group of tracks outside a yard served by an industrial switch engine or local freight train. Within a zone there are many numbered tracks. Each track within a zone is further divided into numbered customer loading and unloading "spots." This uniform numbering system is the means by which NCSC Representatives tell the system where customer shipments should be placed.