Basics of freight railcar weight and capacity • The nominal capacity of a typical, 4-axle railcar today is 110 tons (formerly was 100 ton) • Maximum Gross Rail Load (GRL) of a 110 ton, 4-axle railcar is 286,000 lbs. (weight of car + contents or “lading”) • Nominal capacity = 220,000 lbs. or 110 tons of lading