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Showing results for tags 'railbus'.
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This rail vehicles is a type of railcar called a Galloping Goose, and is slightly inspired by seven real vehicles built and used by the cash-strapped Rio Grande Southern narrow gauge railway back in the early 1930s. This tiny railroad couldn't afford to run a single steamer in the worst part of the Great Depression, so they made the Geese to deliver the mail, supplies, and people to the silver mines / camps around Durango and Ridgway, Colorado. In fact, the lucrative mail contract is what kept them afloat - when that went away in the early 1950s , the railroad was torn up. Six Geese still exist in original form, with one being a reconstructed replica. These machines are really something Doctor Frankenstein would love - a bus body or boxcar welded to a road vehicle (usually a Pierce Arrow limousine) for the front end, with train wheels added underneath. This is my third interpretation of this type of passenger doodlebug, which is numbered eight in my rail fleet, and was never owned by Rio Grande Southern. (The seven real-world ones originally had boxcars on the back for freight service as well as having seats for passengers up near the driver.) The rear of the rather odd-looking vehicle. As a play feature, you can open the doors to the drivers compartment and place a driver at the wheel. The back half of the vehicle is not meant to be accessible. My version of the Goose is slightly inspired by the front half of the second one made. As you can see in this 1940 picture, the railcars were referred to as Motors by the Rio Grande Southern. This was true up until close to the end of the first careers, about ten years after this photo was taken - though the public has seemingly always called them Galloping Geese. You can read more about these fascinating railcars here on Wikipedia. Thoughts?
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My version of the British Pacer class 14x diesel railcar/railbus. Pacers or nodding donkeys were made in 1980s using bus bodies on 2 axle rail frames. The design provides a rough ride over switch points and rail joints. It also makes much squealing noise going through curves. Pacer Railcar by dr_spock_888, on Flickr In keeping with bus parts and keeping costs down as with the real Pacers, one of the windscreen came off a LEGO City Bus. Interior seating for 4 minifig passengers. There is a passthrough between cars. Video of Pacer motorized it with Power Functions.
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These two rail vehicles are a type of railcar called a Galloping Goose, and are slightly inspired by seven real vehicles built and used by the Rio Grande Southern narrow gauge railway back in the 1930s to 1950s, when the little railroad was torn up. Six still exist in original form, with one being a reconstructed replica. These machines are really something Doctor Frankenstein would love - a bus body or boxcar welded to a road vehicle (usually a Pierce Arrow limousine, though bus bodies were later used) for the front end, with train wheels added underneath. My interpretations of this type of vehicle are built in freight (red) and passenger (blue) versions, even though the real-world ones are all silver / light gray painted. (NOTE: This vehicle's front half was inspired by @hachiroku and his Indiana Jones "Raiders" staff car MOC from 2019.) The rear of the Galloping Geese. As a play feature, you can open the doors to the drivers compartment and place a driver at the wheel. The back half of either vehicle is not meant to be accessible. The free LDD file for both Galloping Geese can be found at my Bricksafe page. I'm currently building the blue Galloping Goose in real life, so keep your eyes peeled for that separate thread later! Thoughts, questions, complaints, and suggestions welcome!
