A covered goods wagon or van is a railway goods wagon which is designed for the transportation of moisture-susceptible goods and therefore fully enclosed by sides and a fixed roof. They are often referred to simply as covered wagons, and this is the term used by the International Union of Railways (UIC). Since the introduction of the international classification for goods wagons by the UIC in the 1960s a distinction has been drawn between ordinary and special
covered wagon
. Other types of wagon, such asrefrigerated vans and goods wagons with opening roofs, are closely related to covered wagons from a design point of view.
Similar freight cars in North America are boxcars
Covered goods wagons for transporting part-load or parcel goods are almost as old as the railway itself. Because part-load goods were the most common freight in the early days of the railway, the covered van was then the most important type of goods wagon and, for example, comprised about 40% of the German railways goods fleet until the 1960s.Since then however the open top wagon" href="http://www.railway-wagon.com/open-top-wagon-1.html">
The formerly widespread ordinary covered wagon with side doors was almost fully displaced in the third quarter of the 20th century by special covered wagons with sliding walls which can be rapidly loaded and unloaded with palletised goods using fork-lift trucks.
The UIC's ordinary covered wagon class has rigid, fixed walls with sliding doors on each side. The upper third of the side walls has closable openings of various types. These may be designed as ventilation openings, loading hatches or combined ventilation and loading hatches. Today, Class G wagons have been largely superseded by other classes.
The transportation of part-load goods that are susceptible to the weather in boxes, sacks and barrels is the main function of G class wagons. One disadvantage they have is that the single side door does not facilitate rapid loading and unloading of large unit loads. The demand for G wagons fell with the increasing use of intermodal freight transport. Today the majority of part-load goods are moved in ISO containers, for which special flat wagon" href="http://www.railway-wagon.com/flat-wagon-1.html">
G wagons were also frequently filled with bulk materials that were vulnerable to the weather. Special wall attachments were developed, especially for the transportation of grain, with which the side doors could be closed. Today there are self-discharging wagons with opening roofs available for this type of freight that are quicker to load and unload.
G wagons were often attached to passenger trains in order to transport express goods and post. Special variants were sometimes used that, for example, were fitted with suitable braking equipment or heating pipes.
G wagons were also used frequently for the transportation of cattle. This required good ventilation, which is why wagons were initially fitted with four, later eight, ventilation openings.
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