Vognene

Vognene is the definite plural form of the Norwegian noun vogn, which refers to a wheeled vehicle used to transport people or goods. The term is most closely associated with railway rolling stock, but in everyday language it can also describe other types of wagons or carriages. In common usage, vognene can appear in contexts such as street vehicles or non-rail transport, while more specific terms are often used for clarity.

Etymology and scope: Vogn comes from Old Norse vagn and is related to other Germanic languages. The word has historically described wheeled conveyances ranging from carts and carriages to modern railway cars. In the railways, vognene denotes the non-locomotive elements of a train.

Railway use: In rail transport, a vogn is a unit of rolling stock designed to be pulled by a locomotive. The main categories are passenger cars (passasjervogner) and freight wagons (godsvogner). Within freight, there are specialized types such as tankvogn (tank wagon), containervogn (container wagon), and various open or covered wagons. Modern vogn are built with standardized couplings and braking systems, and they are organized into train sets or consist plans.

Other contexts: In current Norwegian usage, vogn can still appear in compounds describing non-rail vehicles, but more precise terms are often used for road transport. The word also appears in everyday objects such as barnevogn (baby stroller) and handlevogn (shopping trolley), where the sense is clearly non-rail and household or retail oriented.

See also: rolling stock, freight car, passenger car.