Freight cars have helped set railroads apart from other modes of transportation. The freight car has been used to house loads needing protection from the elements such as grain, for gas and bulk quantity liquid deliveries, for bulk commodities not needing protection like coal or stone and for loads like iron and steel.  Since the advent of railroads, people have traveled by train. The first passenger trains didn't travel very far, but they were able to haul many more passengers for a longer distance than any wagons pulled by horses.

As railways were first constructed in England, so too were the first passenger cars. One of the early coach designs was the "Stanhope". It featured a roof and small holes in the floor for drainage when it rained, and had separate compartments for different classes of travel. The only problem with this design is that the passengers were expected to stand for their entire trip. The first passenger cars in the US highly resembled stagecoaches. They were short, often less than 10 feet long and rode on a single pair of axles. Together the freight car and passenger cars have helped to make railroads a mechanical marvel.