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Railroad Equipment
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Spirit of America Bookstore's American Railroads Pages
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America's Shortline Railroads Page
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G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Links Page
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G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Links Page
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G.E. Nordell's Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page
'History of Rail Transport in the U.S.' page at Wikipedia
Gasoline-Powered Locomotives
As gasoline motors improved (around 1910), Electro-Motive Corporation (before the General Motors takeover) started selling self-propelled gas-powered passenger
and freight railcars. Self-propelled railcars became even more popular during the Great Depression as railroad passenger traffic dropped and national & local
highways were constructed for use by trucks & buses & the automobile.
'Doodlebug' self-propelled railcars
E.M.C. 1925 Montana Western RR gas-electric railcar #31 is awaiting engine repairs at M.C.R.M.
(Great Northern Rwy #2313 service 1925-1939 between Marcus, Washington and South Nelson, British Columbia; Montana Western RR #31 1940-65
between Valier and Conrad, Montana; donated to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 1965, restored 1972; last operated 1987)
1932 AT&SF doodlebug railcar 'La Marranita (The Little Pig)' ran 1934-68 - now parked in Downtown Belén, New Mexico 
 | "The Doodlebugs: A Word and Picture History" [1977] by John B. McCall includes color photographs, drawings, and over 300 b&w photos Kachina Press 6x9 hardcover [1977] out of print/used |
 | "Interurbans Without Wires: The Rail Motorcar In The United States" [1979] by Edmund Keilty Interurban Press Special 66 9x6 hardcover [1979] out of print/used |
 | "Doodlebug Country: The Rail Motorcar On The Class I Railroads of The United States" [1982] by Edmund Keilty
Interurban Press Special 77 11x8¾ hardcover [9/82] out of print/used |
 | "The Short Line Doodlebug: Galloping Geese and Other Railcritters" [1988] by Edmund Keilty Interurban Press Special 99 11x8¾ hardcover [12/88] out of print/many used |
 | "Son of Doodlebug: A Pictorial Supplement" [2003] by John B. McCall
Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society hardcover [2003] out of print/scarce |
Edwards Railway Motor Car Company [1921-1942]
In 1915, Harry P. Edwards, general manager of the Atlantic & Western Railway in North Carolina, solved a problem of money-losing passenger trains by building a gasoline-engine-powered passenger motorcar; he built other motorcars in the A&W shops and sold then to other railroads. The Edwards Railway Motor Car Company was formed in 1921; the patented Model 20 of 1926, with the motor embedded in the forward wheel-truck, was a big success; production in the 1930s was mostly export. Sales plummeted toward the end of the 1930s, Edwards sold the plant in 1940, and the company folded in 1942.
no official website •
entry at Wikipedia
Only four Edwards-built cars are known to exist: M-100 is still in service with the California Western Railroad; M-401 was restored and is in service at the Nevada State Railroad Museum; ex-B&SE M-500 was restored by the new Edwards company and returned to Alabama; 1926 CB&Q Railway Express combine M-507 was on display in Cape Charles, Virginia in 2009, is now at Virginia & Truckee RR in Nevada for full restoration. (Restoration of the rusted frame of 1924 Yadkin RR M-100 in North Carolina is unlikely.) The new Edwards company built a replica Model 10 in 2000 from original Edwards blueprints for West Virginia Central (now Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR) as their M-3 rail bus; it appears to be up for sale (2014).
 | "The Edwards Railway Motor Car Company and Its Visionary Founder, H.P. Edwards - The Doctor of Sick Shortlines" [2006] by Cary Franklin Poole Hot Box Press hardcover [9/2006] out of print - SOLD OUT |
Edwards Rail Car Company [1997-2008]
Company was re-founded in 1997 by rail consultant Steven Torrico to manufacture & sell lightweight self-propelled rail cars based on the Edwards company’s original designs;
located in either Montgomery, Alabama or Mount Dora, Florida; company folded in December 2008 with plans to re-locate to the original Edwards factory in Sanford,
North Carolina – current status unclear (2008-2016) •
no official website • entry at Wikipedia
Hall-Scott Motor Car Company
McKeen Motor Cars
Rio Grande Southern 'Galloping Geese'
Galloping Goose entry at Wikipedia
Galloping Goose Historical Society [est. 1987] in Dolores, Colorado {GG #5}
Colorado Railroad Museum [est. 1959] in Golden, Colorado {GG #2, #6 & #7}
Colorado Travel / Railroads Links Page / Rio Grande Southern RR Section
 | "Galloping Geese of The Rio Grande Southern: Tin Feathers and Gasoline Fumes" [1988] by Stan Rhine Colorado Railroad Museum 11¼x8¾ pb [6/88] out of print/used |
 | "Tin Feathers, Wooden Trestles, and Iron Men: The Galloping Geese of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad" [2012] by Stan Rhine A new history of the Galloping Geese motive power of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, loaded with great photos and complete information about the seven units. 11x8½ pb [3/2012] available only at The Colorado Railroad Museum for $10.95 + s/h |
"Galloping Goose" [Rocky Mountain P.B.S. 2017]
episode of the "Colorado Experience" TV series [2016-2017]
 | half-hour color/b&w TV documentary on the seven purpose-built rail motor cars of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, in service 1931 to 1952 • Exec producer, writer & director Julie Speer; featuring Joe Becker, Scott Bennett, John Bush (Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR), historian Dr. William Convery, Gary Cryan, Lew Matis, Karl Schaeffer, Doug Schmidt, Donald Tallman, and Jeff Taylor
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • series credits at IMDb • official RMPBS episode homepage watch full episode [12/2017 upload; 26:39] online at YouTube |
gas turbine 'Turbo Train' [1968-82]
The TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train-set designed by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the U.S. between 1968 and 1980;
eight trainsets were built, all were scrapped. In December 1967 testing, the TurboTrain set a world high-speed record of 170.8 mph (274.9 km/h) for gas turbine-powered rail
vehicles (which still stands) •
entry at Wikipedia
High Speed Rail Canada CN Turbo Train Public Archives
 | "TurboTrain: A Journey" [2008] by Jason Shron Rapido Trains, Inc. 136-page pb [2/2008] for $20.15 Rapido Trains makes an HO-scale model of 3-unit TurboTrain (2014) |
Streetcars, Subways & Interurban
'streetcars in North America' page at Wikipedia
North American streetcar museums list {showing 38 in 1/2022} at Wikipedia
this section cut to Page 5 in January 2022
streetcar museums •
active streetcar lines •
streetcar builders •
historic streetcar lines •
reading material •
image gallery
Other Motive Power Designs
General Motors/E.M.D. 'Aerotrain' streamlined trainset [1955-66]
multi-car passenger trainsets operated from 1956 to 1966; failed because of rough ride and under-powered;
two were built, engine and two cars preserved at two U.S. museums.
Aerotrain #T-1 {as #3} is at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri
Aerotrain #T-2 is at the National Railroad Museum in Wisconsin
KETC-TV video [9:12] on YouTube •
entry at Wikipedia
defunct Bowser Models has over 50 Aerotrain prototype photographs online
The Washington Park & Zoo Railway [est. 1958] in Portland, Oregon opened with a 5/8-scale replica
of G.M.'s Aerotrain; the streamlined diesel-hydraulic 'Zooliner' is still operating daily (in season).
Bertin 'Aérotrain' rail hovercraft of France [1965-77]
French/English fansite [est. 2006] •
entry at Wikipedia
Rohr 'Aérotrain' rail hovercraft of Colorado [1970]
prototype 'tracked air-cushion vehicle' built under license from Bertin Aérotrain; testing near Pueblo, Colorado reached speeds of 145 mph 
on 1.5-mile track; stored at Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum for 40+ years; moved to Pueblo [CO] Railway Museum in 2009.
camelback locomotive
Forney locomotives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forney_locomotive
Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (Wuppertal Suspension Railway)
a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany designed by Eugen Langen and built between 1897 and 1903, with the first track opening in 1901;
still in use today, moving some 25 million passengers annually (2008); it runs along a route of 13.3 kilometres (8.3 miles).
"The Flying Train" short [Deutsche Mutoskop und Biograph (DMB) 1902]
depicts a ride on the Schwebebahn (floating railway) in Wuppertal, Germany in 1902 •
bare credits at IMDb
watch full b&w short from MoMA [8/2020 upload; 2:04] online at YouTube
enhanced version by Denis Shiryaev of Poland: slowed down, colorized, and sound added
watch full b&w short [8/2020 upload; 3:47] online at YouTube
video of the Schwebebahn and Wuppertal, Germany in 2018
watch color short [7/2018 upload; 12:37] online at YouTube
 | "Die Wuppertaler Schwebebahn" [2004] by Herbert Günther German-language book about the still-in-use suspension railway built in 1901 in Wuppertal, Germany Sutton Verlag GmbH 8¼x6½ pb [8/2004] for $15.60 |
 | "Generationswechsel (generational change) Wuppertaler Schwebebahn" [U.A.P. Video Germany 2020] 53-minute German-language color video; regions not specified U.A.P. Video GmbH color DVD [2020] for $24.90 |
Railroad Equipment Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
on page 1: top of page • short history • Whyte's notation system • locomotive power • steam locomotives
on page 2: top of page • articulated locomotives • geared locomotives • diesel locomotives • electric locomotives
here on page 3: top of page • gasoline-powered locomotives • other designs
on page 4: top of page • passenger trains • freight cars • maintenance equipment • stations, tunnels & bridges •
books • videos & other media • image gallery • links
on page 5: streetcars, subways & interurban
Spirit of America Bookstore's American Railroads Pages
on page one: top of page • links • museums • Class I railroads • Class II railroads • shortline railroads
on page two: top of page • games • RR history • narrow gauge RRs • historic RR lines
on page three: top of page • transcontinental railroads • railroad moguls • railroad recordings
Spirit of America Bookstore's 'Railroads in Fiction' Pages
Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroads in Fiction - Books For Young Railfans Page
Spirit of America Bookstore's 'Non-Fiction Books About Railroads' Pages
Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Film Festival Pages
Railroad Equipment Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore « « you are here
Spirit of America Bookstore's Geared Steam Locomotives
Spirit of America Bookstore's Private Railcars Page
America's Shortline Railroads Page
Spirit of America Bookstore's Scale Model & Toy Trains Page
G.E. Nordell's Arizona Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page
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