A rugged, open-topped rail car designed to haul coal, ore, or waste rock along underground tracks. They are pulled in trains by locomotives or rope haulage systems and are typically designed to be tipped or emptied from the bottom at a dump station.
Heard on the job
We need a locomotive to pull these empty mine cars back to the production heading.
Also heard as
- tub
- tram
- hutch
Related terms
Tub
An open-topped container or small rail car used to hoist mined material up a shaft.
Hutch
A compartment or box in an ore-dressing machine where heavy minerals settle out of the crushed rock.
Dram
A small, wheeled cart or tram historically used to transport coal from the working face to the shaft.
Corf
A large, traditional basket made of hazel or wicker used to haul coal out of early mines.