Not to be confused with Railroad car

A railcar is a self-propelled railroad vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term 'Railcar' is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drivers cab at each end.

The term is sometimes also used as an alternatve name for a multiple unit which consist of more than one coach.

Railcars are usually propelled by a diesel engine mounted underneath the floor of the coach.

Sometimes when there are enough passengers to justify it, railcars can be joined together to form multiple units.

Railcars are economic to run because of their small size, and in many countries are often used to run passenger services on minor railway lines, such as rural railway lines where passenger traffic is sparse, and where the use of a longer train would not be cost effective.

A variation of railcar is a railbus, a very lightweight type of railcar designed for use specifically on little-used railway lines, and as the name suggests share many aspects of their construction with a bus, usually having a bus, or modified bus body, and having four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies.

A UK company current promoting the rail bus concept is parry people movers. It is an interesting device in that motive power is from the energy storein a flywheel. Prototypes have an on board diesel motor to bring the flywheel up to speed. In practise this could be an electric motor that need only connect to the power supply at stopping points. Alternatively a motor at the stopping points could wind up the flywheel of each car as it stops.

More details can be found at their web site: [1]

Railbuses were used commonly in countries such as Germany, and a type of railbus known as a Pacer is still commonly used in the United Kingdom.

The term railbus also refers to a dual-mode vehicle that can run on streets with rubber tires and on tracks with train wheels.

See also

• McKeen Motor Car Company - pioneering US railcar builder