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freight car

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freight car

–noun
any car for carrying freight.

Origin:
1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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freight car  
n.  A railroad car designed for carrying freight.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

freight car

railroad car designed to carry cargo. Early freight cars were made largely of wood. All-steel cars were introduced by about 1896 and within 30 years had almost completely replaced the wooden variety. Modern freight cars vary widely in shape and size, but virtually all of them evolved from three basic types that had been in use since the early 1800s: the open-top car, the boxcar, and the flatcar.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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