Tender (rail)

Cutaway cross section showing a Spanish tender designed for fuel oil. Green areas hold water and brown areas hold fuel oil. There is a special arrangement to prevent sloshing around during the movement of the train.

A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive itself are called tank locomotives or tank engines.

A corridor tender is a locomotive tender with a passageway to one side, allowing crew changes on the fly.

A brake tender is a tender that is heavy and used (primarily) to provide greater braking efficiency.