page_title: Flat wagon
section_title: S: Special flat wagons with bogies
hierarchical_section_title: Flat wagon / International UIC classification / S: Special flat wagons with bogies
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Платформа
context_page_description: Flat wagons, as classified by the International Union of Railways, are railway goods wagons that have a flat, usually full-length, deck and little or no superstructure. By contrast, open wagons have high side and end walls and covered goods wagons have a fixed roof and sides. Flat wagons are often designed for the transportation of goods that are not weather-sensitive. Some flat wagons are able to be covered completely by tarpaulins or hoods and are therefore suitable for the transport of weather-sensitive goods. Unlike a "goods wagon with opening roof", the loading area of a flat is entirely open and accessible once the cover is removed.
  Flats form a large proportion of goods wagons; for example in 1998 they comprised 40% of the total goods fleet owned by the German carrier, DB, the overwhelming majority of which were flat wagons with bogies.
  Typical goods transported by these railway wagons are: vehicles, engines, large pipes, metal beams, wire coils, wire mesh, half-finished steel products, containers, rails, sleepers and complete sections of railway track. Gravel, sand and other bulk goods are transported on flat wagons with side panels.
context_section_description: This is the largest group of flat wagons both in terms of variety and numbers. Their classification as special wagons arises either as a result of not having a wagon deck that is drivable or due to their axle count. Unlike the standard wagons, these flats are predominantly optimised for a specific purpose. In 1998 the DB had about 22,000 Class S wagons in its fleet.
  The large variety of variants may be seen from the number of index letters, of which only the most important are given here; i.e. those that are needed to distinguish the basic types:
  a – 6 axles,
  aa – 8 or more axles,
  d – fitted out for the transport of motor cars,
  g – fitted for the transport of containers (Container wagons),
  gg – fitted for the transport of containers, total loading length over 60' feet,
  h – for the transport of steel coils, eye to side
  i – with removable cover and non-removable ends,
  l – without stanchions (optional in certain combinations),
  mm – very short loading length (four-axle wagons < 15 m, otherwise < 18 m),
  p – without sides (the use of this code letter is optional in certain combinations),
  r – articulated wagon.
caption: Narrow gauge flat wagons, 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
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