Lowmac
Encyclopedia
Lowmac is a United Kingdom
railway term for a design of low-floored ('well') wagon. A Lowmac's purpose is for carrying vehicles or equipment that would normally be over the recommended height of a normal flatbed wagon, and hence exceed the loading gauge
.
's coding of railway wagons for a well wagon with a recessed floor. In full the code is 'Low Machinery'; meaning a wagon with a low floor used for carrying machinery. The term was also employed by British Rail
ways but as an actual wagon name.
Lowmac style wagons were widely used throughout the 1890s till the 1950s when road transport was able to take their loads of machinery and vehicles. All were removed from service and (except those on preserved railways) scrapped by British Rail
ways because they were replaced by more modern bogie wagons such as Warwells.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
railway term for a design of low-floored ('well') wagon. A Lowmac's purpose is for carrying vehicles or equipment that would normally be over the recommended height of a normal flatbed wagon, and hence exceed the loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
.
History
'Lowmac' is the telegramaphic term within the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
's coding of railway wagons for a well wagon with a recessed floor. In full the code is 'Low Machinery'; meaning a wagon with a low floor used for carrying machinery. The term was also employed by British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways but as an actual wagon name.
Lowmac style wagons were widely used throughout the 1890s till the 1950s when road transport was able to take their loads of machinery and vehicles. All were removed from service and (except those on preserved railways) scrapped by British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways because they were replaced by more modern bogie wagons such as Warwells.