Tender (rail)
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel (wood, coal, or oil) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive are called tank engines.
A brake tender is a heavy variant used primarily to provide greater braking efficiency.
Read more about Tender (rail): General Functions, Tender Design Variants, Tender-first Operations
Famous quotes containing the word tender:
“And that is ... how they are. So terribly physically all over one another. They pour themselves one over the other like so much melted butter over parsnips. They catch each other under the chin, with a tender caress of the hand, and they smile with sunny melting tenderness into each other’s face.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)