Minivan on rails, Vaser Valley Railway, Romania
The Vaser Valley Railway is a narrow gauge forest railway in the Carpathian mountains in Romania. Private railcar 01 CALLATIS has been converted from a Ford road van. The driver handles ignition, gears and accelerator pedal as in a normal car, while the steering wheel works on the brakes.
The railcar has a reverse gear, but this is used only for short distances. When the railcar needs to change direction for a longer journey, it is turned on the spot by means of a plate that can be lowered on the rails at the gravity center of the railcar.
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 (carriage, car), with a driver’s cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles “railmotors” (or “rail motors”).
Railcars are economic to run for light passenger loads 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 famous example of this in the United States was the Galloping Goose railcars of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, whose introduction allowed the discontinuance of steam passenger service on the line and prolonged its life considerably.
Railcars have also been employed on premier services. In New Zealand, although railcars were primarily used on regional services, the Blue Streak and Silver Fern railcars were used on the North Island Main Trunk between Wellington and Auckland and offered a higher standard of service than previous carriage trains.
