motor coach

English

Noun

motor coach (plural motor coaches)

1. (rail transport) A powered railway vehicle, designed for passenger transport, capable to pull (or push) other railroad cars (compared to a railcar which only consists of a single railway vehicle with a driver's cab at both ends).

   Synonym: (American English) motorcar

   Antonym: trailer car

   • 1961 March, “Interim report on the Glasgow suburban electric train failures”, in Trains Illustrated, page 175:

     It will be recalled that the units are formed of three-car sets, with driving trailers on either side of the motor coach. The motor coach, which has a nose-suspended motor on each axle, carries the pantograph above the guard's van.

2. Alternative form of motorcoach (a road vehicle)

References

• “motor coach”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.