- Water column (US), water crane (UK): a device used for delivering a large volume of water into the tank or tender of a steam locomotive. Also called a standpipe.
- Water glass/gauge: A device showing the level of water in the boiler.
- Way car: A term used instead of caboose by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Chicago and North Western Railway and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway .
- Way freight: See local train.
- Wayobjects or Wayside objects: Trackside objects are any structures at the wayside or beside the rail tracks usually within the right-of-way, such as:
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- railway signals
- third rails
- overhead lines and their supports
- electrification systems
- platforms
- boom barriers
- Wayside: Trackside. The term presumably has its origin from the term right-of-way.
- Well tank: A type of tank locomotive. The water tank is mounted between the frame plates, beneath the cab and boiler.
- Well wagon: A flat wagon that has a depressed centre and is used for carrying extra tall loads.
- Well car.
- Aircraft parts flatcar.
- Wheel: The rolling component typically pressed onto an axle and mounted on a rail car or locomotive truck or bogie. Wheels are cast or forged (wrought) and are heat treated to have a specific hardness. New wheels are trued to a specific profile before being pressed onto an axle. All wheel profiles need to be periodically monitored to insure proper wheel to rail interface. Improperly trued wheels increase rolling resistance, reduce energy efficiency and may create unsafe operation. A railroad wheel typically consists of two main parts: the wheel itself, and the tire around the outside. A rail tire is itself steel, and is typically heated and pressed onto the wheel, where it remains firmly as it shrinks and cools.
- Wheel Climb: The process of a wheel climbing up and often off the inside or gauge side of the rail. It is a major source of derailments. Wheel climb is more likely to occur in curves with wheels whose flanges are worn or have improper angles. See Rail adhesion.
- Wheel Flange: The inner section of a wheel that rides between the two rails. The angle between the wheel tread and flange is often specific to the rail to prevent wheel climb and possible derailments. See Rail adhesion. The wheel flange is part of the wheel tire.
- Wheel slip: The loss of traction due to a slippery rail or wheel. Wheel slip was common with steam engines as they started to move due to the excessive torque often generated at low speed. Steam engines carried sand dispensing gear to increase traction at the start of motion.
- Wheel Tapper: An historical railway occupation; people employed to tap train wheels with hammers and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts. The job was associated with the steam age, but they still operate in some eastern European countries. Modern planned maintenance procedures have mostly obviated the need for the wheel-tapper.
- Wheel Tread: The slightly conical section (often with a 1 in 20 slope) of a railroad wheel that is the primary contact point with the rail. See Rail adhesion.
- Whistle: Train whistles are used as a safety warning and also by the engineer to communicate to other railroad workers. See train whistle for a description of the whistle code used to communicate. Also a nickname for an air horn on a diesel locomotive. Steam engine whistles were historically known as chimes in the US during the 19th century.
- Whistle post: An advanced warning to the engineer of an upcoming grade crossing. It is the point at which the engineer should begin sounding the whistle or horn.
- Whyte notation: A system of describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, e.g. 4-6-4, 2-10-2. The first number indicates the number of "pilot" wheels that help lead the engine into turns. The second is the number of coupled wheels ("drivers"). Third are the trailing idler wheels, usually to provide support to larger fireboxes. Articulated locomotives are similarly described. For example, a Union Pacific "Big Boy" would be described as a 4-8-8-4, wherein the pilot has four wheels, followed by two sets of drivers, 8 wheels per set, and a 4 wheel trailing bogie under the firebox. The numbers include the wheels on both sides of the engine, so a 2-8-2 engine would have one idler, four drivers, and a final idler on each side of the engine.
- Wigwag: A largely superseded Level or Grade Crossing Warning Signal consisting of a swinging disc facing road traffic with a red light in the centre. The disc normally hangs straight down, but an approaching train will set it swinging from side to side, the red light will illuminate or flash, and a bell will ring.
- Working water: Also "foaming" or "priming"; the condition of a steam locomotive drawing water through its throttle valve, cylinders, and smokestack, often causing damage to the cylinders or running gear.
- Wrong-side failure: A failure in a signalling system that leaves the system in a dangerous condition.
- Wye (US), triangle (UK): Three railroad tracks in a triangular form with switches at all three corners. With sufficient lengths of track leading away in all three directions, a wye can turn a train of any length.
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