Waggon

Waggon is an English term for a wheeled vehicle used to carry goods. Historically it refers to a four-wheeled, horse-drawn cart, but in railway vocabulary it designates a freight vehicle that operates on rails. The double-g spelling is an older or regional variant of wagon and is still encountered in historical writing and in Commonwealth usage.

Road waggons were widely used in agriculture and commerce. Traditional models were built of timber with a flat or raised bed, sometimes covered, and drawn by horses or oxen. Later designs incorporated metal bodies, improved suspension, and iron fittings, enabling heavier loads and longer distances.

Rail waggons, or wagons, are purpose-built freight vehicles. They vary from box and covered wagons to open-topped models, flat wagons, tank wagons, and hopper wagons. Rail waggons are mounted on bogies or wheelsets, equipped with couplers and braking systems, and sized to fit track gauges and axle load limits of their networks. In many systems they are organized into marshalling yards and maintained by railway companies or private operators.

In contemporary usage, the spelling wagon is more common in American English, while waggon survives in British English and in historical contexts. The term remains in use in heritage railways, museums, and in the names of some classes and stock.