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:
“She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)