A railcar is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach, with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors".
Pacer was the operational name of the British Rail Classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses built between 1980 and 1987. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle. The railbuses were intended as a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock, with a lifespan of no more than twenty years. As modernised replacements were lacking, the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021, 37 years after their 1984 introduction.
Rhodesia Railways class DE2 are a type of diesel locomotive built for operations on Rhodesia Railways in the 1950s. The first entered service on 22 June 1955.
The 620/720 class railcars were a class of diesel multiple unit built by the New South Wales Government Railways and operated from 1961 until 2007.
The British Rail Class 140 was the prototype of the Pacer diesel multiple unit.
The British RailClass 141 is the first production model of the Pacer diesel multiple unit (DMU) railbus.
Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it.
The Land Rover Series I, II, and III, or simply the Land-Rover are compact British off-road vehicles, produced by the Rover Company since 1948, and later by British Leyland. Inspired by the World War II jeep, it was the first mass-produced civilian four-wheel drive car with doors, and an available hard roof. Contrary to conventional car and truck chassis, it used a sturdier fully box-welded frame. Furthermore, due to post-war steel shortage, and aluminium surplus, Land Rovers received non-rusting aluminium alloy bodies, favouring their longevity. In 1992, Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had built were still in use.
The McKeen Railmotor was a 6-cylinder self-propelled railcar or railmotor. When McKeen Company of Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., first unveiled the car in 1905, the McKeen was among the first engines with a distillate-fueled motor. Revisions to the McKeen car led to the modern self-propelled gasoline rail-motor vehicle, and the "contours of the porthole windows, the front-mounted gasoline engines, and other features anticipated the streamline concept."
The Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) was a type of railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways in Australia.
The family of Walker railmotors were a type of diesel railcar operated by the Victorian Railways in Australia.
The 1903 Petrol Electric Autocars were built by the North Eastern Railway in 1903 at their carriage works in York, England. These were powered by petrol engines which generated electricity for two traction motors which were mounted on the bogie underneath. This means of powering a railway vehicle was pioneering and would eventually be developed into the diesel-electric technology that powered and powers many locomotives worldwide. The railcars were numbered 3170 and 3171 and were 53.5 feet (16.3 m) long and weighed around 35 long tons (36 t). The engine was mounted in an engine compartment 13.25 feet (4.04 m) long. The rest of the vehicles' length was taken up by a vestibule, driving compartment and a 52-seat passenger compartment. Two were built and ran until 1930; one has been restored and preserved in working order.
The 900/800 class railcars were diesel multiple units built by the New South Wales Government Railways between November 1951 and November 1960.
Creamy Kate is a former New South Wales Government Railways railmotor, numbered 38. It is an evolution of the CPH rail motor class.
The 400/500 class rail motors are diesel trains built by New South Wales Government Railways primarily for use on regional lines throughout NSW. The trains have since been phased out following a rationalisation of country branch line rail services in November 1983. The 400 Class power cars were built in 1938 at the Eveleigh Carriage Workshops, while the 500 Class trailer cars were built by Ritchie Brothers at Auburn.
The 660 & 760 class railcars are a class of diesel multiple unit train built by the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) and used in the latter stages of their life by CityRail, primarily on its Hunter Valley line. The trains have since been phased out in favour of the newer Endeavour railcar model. The 660/760 railcars were converted by NSWGR from earlier 600/700 Class vehicles between 1973 and 1975.
Diesel multiple units and railcars are trains, usually with passenger accommodation, that do not require a locomotive. Railcars can be single cars, while in multiple units cars are marshalled together with a driving position either end. As of December 2010, 23 percent of the rail passenger cars used on Network Rail are part of a diesel multiple unit.
A steam railcar is a rail vehicle that does not require a locomotive as it contains its own steam engine. The first steam railcar was an experimental unit designed and built in 1847 by James Samuel and William Bridges Adams. In 1848, they made the Fairfield steam carriage that they sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway, who used it for two years on a branch line.
The 1100 class railcar or Budd railcar were a type of diesel railcar built by Commonwealth Engineering for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1961. They primarily operated on the South Coast Daylight Express until withdrawn in 1993.
The FP paybuses were a series of thirteen small 4 wheel railbuses built for the Department of Railways New South Wales between 1937 and 1970. The rail buses were intended for use on branch lines whose low passenger numbers did not warrant the use of a larger railmotor.
