A steam railcar, steam motor car (US), or Railmotor (UK) is a railcar that is self powered by a steam engine. The first steam railcar was an experimental unit designed and built in 1847 by James Samuel and William Bridges Adams in Britain. In 1848 they made the Fairfield steam carriage that they sold to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, who used it for two years on a branch line.
The first steam railcar was designed by James Samuel, the Eastern Counties Railway Locomotive Engineer, built by William Bridges Adams in 1847, and trialled between Shoreditch and Cambridge on 23 October 1847. An experimental unit, 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) long with a small vertical boiler and passenger accommodation was a bench seat around a box at the back. [1] The following year Samuel and Adams built the Fairfield steam carriage. This was much larger, 31 feet 6 inches (9.60 m) long, and built with an open third class section and a closed second class section. After trials in 1848, it was sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway and ran for two years on the Tiverton branch. [2]
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In 1905, the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway purchased a steam railcar from Kerr, Stuart and Company. [3] [4] Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company supplied a twin-car unit with an oil-fired boiler in 1931 to the Entre Ríos Railway. [5]
In 1883, the Victorian Railways purchased the Rowan steam railmotor. [6] Two double-decker units were imported from Belgium by the South Australian Railways in 1895. [7]
In 1913, Kerr, Stuart and Company built a boiler, shipped it to Australia and the Victorian Railways assembled the Kerr Stuart steam railmotor. [7]
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In 1880, Ringhoffer of Prague built a steam railcar for the Österreichische Lokaleisenbahngesellschaft (Austrian local railway). With 32 seats and a maximum speed of 18 kilometres per hour (11 mph), it had been withdrawn by 1900. In the early 20th century, the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways ordered a railcar with a Serpollet boiler from Esslingen, followed by a number of cars with boilers from Komarek of Vienna and carriages from Ringhoffer. The Niederösterreichische Landesbahnen (Lower Austrian State Railway) also bought cars made by Komarek and Rohrbacher. Most cars had been withdrawn by the end of World War I, and those that remained when Austria-Hungary was divided in 1918 were divided between the Czechoslovak State Railways and the Austrian Federal Railways. All units having been withdrawn by the end of the 1950s, as of 2012 [update] one car is preserved operational at the Czech Railway Museum in Lužná (Rakovník District). [8]
Between 1901 and 1908, Ganz Works of Budapest and de Dion-Bouton of Paris collaborated to build a number of railcars for the Hungarian State Railways together with units with de Dion-Bouton boilers, Ganz steam motors and equipments, and Raba carriages built by the Raba Hungarian Wagon and Machine Factory in Győr. In 1908, the Borzsavölgyi Gazdasági Vasút (BGV), a narrow-gauge railway in Carpathian Ruthenia (today's Ukraine), purchased five railcars from Ganz and four railcars from the Hungarian Royal State Railway Machine Factory with de Dion-Bouton boilers. The Ganz company started to export steam motor railcars to the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Japan, Russia and Bulgaria. [9] [10] [11]
In 1928, the Leopoldina Railway (de) purchased a steam railcar for inspection services by Sentinel Waggon Works. [12] [13]
Steam railcars to be built in Britain in the early 20th century for the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) and before entering passenger service one was lent to the Great Western Railway (GWR) for a trial run in the Stroud Valley between Chalford and Stonehouse in Gloucestershire. [14] Between 1902 and 1911, 197 steam railcars were built, 99 by the GWR. [15]
Introduced either due to competition from the new electric tramways or to provide an economic service on lightly used country branch lines, there were two main designs, either a powered bogie enclosed in a rigid body or an articulated engine unit and carriage, pivoting on a pin. However, with little reserve power steam railcars were inflexible and the ride quality was poor due to excessive vibration and oscillation. Most were replaced by an autotrain, adapted carriages and a push-pull steam locomotive as these were able to haul additional carriages or goods wagons.
After trials in 1924, the London and North Eastern Railway purchased three types of steam railcars from Sentinel-Cammell and Claytons.
Experiments with a steam railcar in 1926 led to the acquisition of many examples of this type of vehicle by the Egyptian State Railways. Clayton Wagons supplied six twin-car units in 1928. [42] Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company 13 similar vehicles in 1930. [43] Sentinel and Metro-Cammell supplied ten twin-car units in 1934. [44]
In 1951, Sentinel and Metro-Cammell built ten 3-car steam railcar units for the Egyptian National Railways. The units were articulated, with an oil-fired boiler supplying steam to two 6-cylinder steam motors. Withdrawn from service in 1962, as of 2012 [update] one unit is under restoration at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. [44]
At the beginning of the 20th century Société Valentin Purrey patented a steam engine that was used in railcars. Built in Bordeaux by 1903 fifty cars had been built, including 40 to the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus-Paris. [45] Also, Buffaud & Robatel built a steam railcar for the metre gauge Chemin de fer de Kayes au Niger in Mali. [46]
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In 1879, Georg Thomas of the Hessian Ludwig Railway developed a double-decker steam railcar, for which he was granted a patent in 1881. The three-axle vehicle consisted of a single-axle engine unit and a two-axle double-deck carriage part, rigidly coupled together and separable only in the workshop. The Hessian Ludwig Railway built three in 1879–80, followed by the Royal Saxon State Railways, the Oels-Gniezno Railway and the Royal Württemberg State Railways. The Royal Bavarian State Railways built a similar Bavarian MCi in 1882. All had been withdrawn in the early 20th century.
In 1895, the Royal Württemberg State Railways ordered a steam railcar using a Serpollet boiler from Esslingen, followed by six more. At first, their performance was unsatisfactory, until Eugen Kittel of the Württemberg State Railways developed a new firebox. Seventeen were built for the Württemberg State Railways and railcars were also made for the Royal Saxon State Railways, Swiss Northeastern Railway and Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways, and the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway in 1914–15.
In 1918, the Austrian State Railways unit passed to the Czechoslovak State Railways after Austria-Hungary was divided at the end of World War I. At the end of World War II units were divided between the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany, Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and SNCF of France and all units had been withdrawn by 1953.
In 1906, the Prussian state railways bought two steam railcars, one fired by coal and the other oil, from Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG.
Seven Bavarian MCCi units were built between 1906 and 1908 for the Royal Bavarian State Railways for suburban services in the Munich area, the coach bodies being manufactured by MAN and the engines by Maffei. These had all been withdrawn by the end of the 1920s.
A steam railcar, DR 59, was built by Wismar in 1937 to reduce the dependency on imported diesel or petrol. After the war ownership of the car passed to the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany, and in 1959 was converted into a driving trailer and withdrawn in 1975.
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway bought one steam railcar in 1906 from Kerr, Stuart and Company. [47] [48] In 1906, the North Western State Railway purchased a steam motor coach from Vulcan Foundry [49] and in 1907 the East Indian Railway bought five steam railcars from Nasmyth, Wilson and Company. [50] In 1925, Sentinel and Metro-Cammell built five twin-car units for the Bengal Nagpur Railway. [51] [52]
In 1904, two steam railcars were ordered from Purrey; classified as FS 80 these were withdrawn in 1913. [45] Sixty-five railcars, classified as FS 60, were purchased in 1905 to 1907, but found to be under-powered and sixteen were converted into locomotives. [53] At the 1906 Milan Fair an FS 85 (it) was exhibited and three were purchased by Kerr, Stuart and Company, followed by 12 also British built FS 86 (it). [54]
In 1938, three railcars using high-pressure steam were purchased and classified ALv 72 (it). These were sold to Ferrovie Padane in 1940 and converted into passenger coaches. [55]
The Japanese Government Railways had several steam railcars in their employ before experimenting with petrol and diesel cars. [56]
French manufacturers Buffaud & Robatel built a steam railcar for the metre gauge Chemin de fer de Kayes au Niger in Mali. [46]
In 1907, the Mauritius Government Railways purchased a steam railcar from Kerr, Stuart and Company. [57] [58]
In 1907, the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in German South West Africa (today's Namibia) purchased two steam railcars built by MAN SE in cooperation with Maffei for 600 mm gauge. [59]
In 1925 and 1926, two steam railcars were supplied to New Zealand Railways Department, one from Sentinel and Cammell and the other from Claytons. [60] They were both withdrawn after a few years. [61] [62]
The Nigerian Railways purchased several 3-car steam railcar units in 1954 from Metro-Cammell. The units were articulated, with an oil-fired boiler supplying steam. [63]
In North America, a railcar is known as a Doodlebug and the steam railcar as a steam motor car. The New England Railroad purchased a steam motor car by Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1897. [64] In 1906, the Canadian Pacific Railway had an oil fired steam railcar [65] and in 1908 the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad purchased one by Alco-Schenectady. [66]
In 1911, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a steam-powered railcar combining a Jacobs-Schupert boiler and a Ganz Works power truck in an American Car and Foundry body. The resulting doodlebug was designated M-104. It operated experimentally under its own power for only three months. With the steam machinery removed and an unpowered bogie truck substituted, the car operated as an unpowered combine (combination baggage-coach car) until the 1960s. [67]
The steam motor cars in North America reached their popular apex before the 1880s, with most fabricated to custom designs by small specialty builders before 1875. nearly all examples were unique and purpose-built to order; a few were experimental cars built and marketed by small firms or individuals on a trial basis and often not entirely successful due to their uniqueness or relative costs. The rise of electric traction was one cause for the ultimate demise of American steam motor cars. [68]
In 1906, the Portuguese Railway Company purchased two steam railcars from Borsig. [69]
There were a total of three steam railcars in South Africa, all imported from Britain and all running on the Cape gauge of 1,067 mm common there.
The Sudan Government Railways bought two steam railcars from Clayton Wagons in 1929. [70]
Steam railcars were used in Sweden in the 1880s.[ citation needed ]
In 1889, steam railcars were built for the Pilatus Railway, a rack railway in Switzerland with a maximum gradient of 48%.
Cars Nos. 1-9 were built by the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur, followed by No. 10 in 1900 and no. 11 in 1909. The railway was electrified in 1937, and the cars scrapped except for two. Car no. 9 remained until 1981 as a reserve and has since been in the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne. Car no. 10 is on permanent loan to the Deutsches Museum in Munich. [71] [72]
In 1902, a steam railcar was built by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen. Not a success, it was rebuilt in 1907 and sold to the Uerikon Bauma Railway. The railcar was withdrawn in 1950 and as of 2012 [update] the railcar is restored. [73]
The Trinidad Government Railway purchased two steam railcars secondhand from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1921, but they have never been put in operation. [74] One of the coach parts was converted into the Governor's saloon and the other into a second class carriage. In 1931, a Sentinel-Cammell twin articulated steam railcar was acquired. [75]
An inspection locomotive was a special type of steam locomotive designed to carry railroad officials on inspection tours of the railroad property.
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries, buses and locomotives.
The NZR RM class Clayton steam rail motor was a unique railcar that was operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR) for New Zealand's national rail network and one of only two steam railcars to operate in New Zealand - the other being 1925's RM class Sentinel-Cammell.
The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India. It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the class eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".
The Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) is a heritage steam railway in Glenbrook, New Zealand.
The RM class was the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and its successors gave to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. "RM" stands for Rail Motor which was the common name at the turn of the 20th century for what became known in New Zealand as railcars. As many types of railcars are operated, class names have been given to each railcar type to differentiate them from others.
The NZR RM class Sentinel-Cammell was a steam-powered railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). It was the only one of its type to operate in New Zealand, and one of only two steam railcars trialled in the country; the other was the Clayton steam railcar.
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 railways of New South Wales, Australia, use a large variety of passenger and freight rolling stock. The first railway in Sydney was opened in 1855 between Sydney and Granville, now a suburb of Sydney but then a major agricultural centre. The railway formed the basis of the New South Wales Government Railways. Passenger and freight services were operated from the beginning. By 1880, there was a half hourly service to Homebush.
The steam rail motors (SRM) were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.
For more than a century, the Swiss locomotive, multiple unit, motor coach and railcar classification system, in either its original or updated forms, has been used to name and classify the rolling stock operated on the railways of Switzerland. It started out as a uniform system for the classification and naming of all rolling stock, powered and unpowered, but had been replaced and amended by the UIC classification of goods wagons.
A steam motor is a form of steam engine used for light locomotives and light self-propelled motor cars used on railways. The origins of steam motor cars for railways go back to at least the 1850s, if not earlier, as experimental economizations for railways or railroads with marginal budgets. These first examples, at least in North America, appear to have been fitted with light reciprocating engines, and either direct or geared drives, or geared-endless chain drives. Most incorporated a passenger carrying coach attached to the engine and its boiler. Boiler types varied in these earlier examples, with vertical boilers dominant in the first decade and then with very small diameter horizontal boilers. Other examples of steam motor cars incorporated an express-baggage or luggage type car body, with coupling apparatus provided to allow the steam motor car to draw a light passenger coach.
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 CSAR Railmotor of 1907 was a South African steam railmotor locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal Colony.
The Cape Government Railways Railmotor of 1906 was a South African steam railmotor locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0+4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and four trailing wheels on two axles mounted in a bogie.
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