Running board

Last updated
Vintage tram, with red footboard visible running along the lower tram-side underneath the three central doors Ballarat tram No 40.JPG
Vintage tram, with red footboard visible running along the lower tram-side underneath the three central doors
Woman standing next to a car's running board StateLibQld 1 163975 Jessie Campbell in the car at Kalbar, June 1920.jpg
Woman standing next to a car's running board
Toyota 4Runner with running board Toyota 4-Runner.jpg
Toyota 4Runner with running board

A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram (cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, which had much higher ground clearances than today's vehicles. It is also used as a fashion statement on vehicles that would not otherwise require it. [1] The origin of the name running board is obscure; the first running boards predate automobiles and were installed on carriages as early as the 17th century.

Contents

History

Rail

Anyone who still wanted to go from compartment to compartment while the train was moving had to scramble over the externally mounted running board. [2] The German "Trittbrettfahrer" (riding on the running board) now has the proverbial meaning "free-rider (non-paying users)".

The term also applied to the walkways on top of railway/railroad boxcars. Originally, they were used by brakemen to travel from car to car to apply hand-operated brakes. With the adoption of the air brake this practice was abandoned. However the running board was still used as an observation point to pass hand signals to the train driver (train engineer in North America) when cars were being shunted (switched in North America). [3] The increased use of radio communication made this unnecessary. Today, most countries forbid anyone to be atop a moving freight car.

Automobile

In the early 20th century, all automobiles were equipped with running boards.[ citation needed ] The necessity of using them was caused by the fact that first cars were designed with a narrow, high body bolted to the chassis. Most roads were unpaved and tall narrow wheels and tires were needed to get through the ruts, mud, and snow. [ citation needed ] A running board served as a step to a vehicle's cabin, and sometimes could be wide enough to serve as a place to sit or even lie down for an adult.[ citation needed ]

During the 1920s and 1930s, car design was evolving rapidly to become more sleek and aerodynamic, which largely eliminated the need for running boards. The first automobile designed without running boards was the 1929 Ruxton, [4] and the first by a high production manufacturer was the 1936 Cord. The Cord changed the attitude towards running boards for many years ahead.[ how? ]

[5] Common materials for running boards include aluminum, fiberglass, stainless steel and ABS plastic.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tram</span> Street-running light railcar

A tram is a urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in the wider term light rail, which also includes systems separated from other traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucker 48</span> Motor vehicle

The Tucker 48, commonly but incorrectly referred to as the Tucker Torpedo, was an automobile conceived by Preston Tucker while in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and briefly produced in Chicago, Illinois, in 1948. Only 51 cars were made including their prototype before the company was forced to declare bankruptcy and cease all operations on March 3, 1949, due to negative publicity initiated by the news media, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and a heavily publicized stock fraud trial. Tucker suspected that the Big Three automakers and Michigan Senator Homer S. Ferguson had a role in the Tucker Corporation's demise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight-eight engine</span> Inline piston engine with eight cylinders

The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The type has been produced in side-valve, IOE, overhead-valve, sleeve-valve, and overhead-cam configurations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railroad car</span> Vehicle used for carrying cargo or passengers on rail transport system

railroad car, railcar, railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck, also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport network. Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, form a train. Alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cord (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Cord was a brand of American luxury automobile manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company of Connersville, Indiana, from 1929 to 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brake van</span> Car that had brakes used by Guards which is usually placed at the end of the Train

Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van and a caboose are very different in appearance, because the former usually has only four wheels, while the latter usually has bogies. German railways employed brakeman's cabins combined into other cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive safety</span> Study and practice to minimize the occurrence and consequences of motor vehicle accidents

Automotive safety is the study and practice of automotive design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design.

A classic car is typically described as an automobile 25 years or older, although a car's age is not the only requirement it must meet before being considered a "classic." However, a standard criteria for recognizing cars as classics does not exist, since different countries use their own rules and have their own regulations for classifying potential cars. Despite this, a common theme is that an older car of historical interest becomes collectible and tends to be restored rather than scrapped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead man's switch</span> Device that reacts to the loss of the operator

A dead man's switch is a switch that is designed to be activated or deactivated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness, or being bodily removed from control. Originally applied to switches on a vehicle or machine, it has since come to be used to describe other intangible uses, as in computer software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PCC streetcar</span> 1930s streetcar (tram) design

The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a streetcar design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency brake (train)</span> Device to stop a train quickly

On trains, the expression emergency brake has several meanings:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the automobile</span>

Crude ideas and designs of automobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scale steam-powered vehicle was created by Ferdinand Verbiest; the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trunk (car)</span> Part of automobile

The trunk or boot of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It can also be called a tailgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive lighting</span> Lighting system of a motor vehicle

A motor vehicle has lighting and signaling devices mounted to or integrated into its front, rear, sides, and, in some cases, top. Various devices have the dual function of illuminating the road ahead for the driver, and making the vehicle visible to others, with indications to them of turning, slowing or stopping, etc., with lights also indicating the size of some large vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 304</span>

The British Rail Class 304 were AC electric multiple units designed and produced at British Rail's (BR) Wolverton Works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruxton (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York, New York, United States, during 1929 and 1930. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Board Machine plant in Philadelphia, Moon Motor Car factory in St. Louis, Missouri, and Kissel Motors of Hartford, Wisconsin, who also produced the car's transmission unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spare tire</span> Additional tire carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that fails

A spare tire is an additional tire carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that goes flat, has a blowout, or has another emergency. Spare tire is generally a misnomer, as almost all vehicles actually carry an entire wheel with a tire mounted on it as a spare rather than just a tire, as fitting a tire to a wheel would require a motorist to carry additional, specialized equipment. However, some spare tires are not meant to be driven long distances. Space-savers have a maximum speed of around 50 mph (80 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidden headlamp</span> Headlamps that are hidden while not in use

Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps, pop-up headlights, flip-eye headlamps, or hideaway headlights, are a form of automotive lighting and an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cord 810/812</span> Motor vehicle

The Cord 810, and later Cord 812, was a luxury automobile produced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company in 1936 and 1937. It was the first American-designed and built front wheel drive car with independent front suspension. It was preceded by Cord's own 1929 Cord L-29, and the French 1934 Citroën Traction Avant front wheel drive cars, but the 810/812 was commercially less successful than these.

This article outlines the history and types of passenger rolling stock and guards vans on the narrow-gauge lines of the Victorian Railways in Australia. The types were constructed in parallel with very similar designs.

References

  1. US 5193829 "Sub frame support system and running board for a vehicle"
  2. "What Are Running Boards?". Auto. August 30, 2022.
  3. "How To Install Running Boards?". Auto. August 30, 2022.
  4. "The Mythical Ruxton - The greatest American car that never really was". Collier Automedia. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  5. "What are running boards?". MOSTPLUS. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-05-14.