coal car

noun

1. a railroad car designed to carry coal.

2. a car for hauling coal in or from a mine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coal car¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

If a railroad sandwiches a group of empty railcars between two sets of heavy coal cars, those lighter cars are more likely to be squeezed and pop off the tracks when going downhill.

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On average, a man died in the mines every day, often crushed by coal cars or killed by explosions.

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Atop of coal cars, they arrived at a displaced persons camp.

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Violence broke out when special deputies attempted to escort a coal car across a picket line, and two strikers were killed.

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They do not think of such vehicles as 27.4 percent coal cars — that being the percentage of U.S. electricity generated by coal-fired power plants.

Read more on Washington Post