Railcar
[1][2] The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (or carriage, car, unit), with a driver's cab at one or both ends.
A famous example of this in the United States was the Galloping Goose railcars of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, whose introduction allowed the discontinuance of steam passenger service on the line and prolonged its life considerably.
[8] In 1904 the Automotor Journal reported that one railway after another had been realising that motor coaches could be used to handle light traffic on their less important lines.
[9] The North-Eastern railways had been experimenting “for some time” in this direction, and Wolseley provided them with a flat-four engine capable of up to 100 bhp (75 kW) for this purpose.
Diesel railcars may have mechanical (fluid coupling and gearbox), hydraulic (torque converter) or electric (generator and traction motors) transmission.
Some vehicles on tram and interurban systems, like the Red Car of the Pacific Electric Railway, can also be seen as railcars.
A new breed of modern lightweight aerodynamically designed diesel or electric regional railcars that can operate as single vehicles or in trains (or, in “multiple units”) are becoming very popular in Europe and Japan, replacing the first-generation railbuses and second-generation DMU railcars, usually running on lesser-used main-line railways and in some cases in exclusive lanes in urban areas.
The equipment is highly customisable with a wide variety of engine, transmission, coupler systems, and car lengths.
Nevertheless, such vehicles may soon operate in the United States as manufacturers such as Siemens, Alstom and ADtranz affirm they may be able to produce FRA-compliant versions of their European equipment.
[citation needed] Light regional railcars are used by a number of railroads in Germany, and also in the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, United States and Spain.
A variation of the railcar is the railbus: a very lightweight type of vehicle designed for use specifically on lightly-used railway lines and, as the name suggests, sharing many aspects of their construction with those of a road bus.
Railbuses have been commonly used in such countries as the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
A type of railbus known as a Pacer based on the Leyland National bus was still widely used in the United Kingdom until withdrawal in 2021.
In Canada, after the cessation of their mainline passenger service, BC Rail started operating a pair of railbuses to some settlements not easily accessible otherwise.
[10] The term railbus also refers to a dual-mode bus that can run on streets with rubber tires and on tracks with retractable train wheels.
The first production vehicles, designated as British Rail Class 139, have a small onboard LPG motor to bring the flywheel up to speed.
