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On & Off the Rails
Road-Railers & Rail-Roaders
(There is a difference!)
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Road-Railer A road vehicle that can run on a railway. |
Rail-Roader A rail vehicle that can run on a roadway. |
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Making ready
for the test run. |
Lucas
Aerospace Workers
Road-Rail
Bus
16th August 1980
This was one of several
projects by the Lucas Aerospace Combine Shop Stewards Committee to develop a
socially useful projects to combat staff redundancy (it was not backed by the
Lucas company).
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On the main
line approaching Cabin. |
The idea of creating a vehicle capable of combining the energy efficiency of
railed traction with on-road flexibility was not new, but the project sought to
do it with more modern technology.
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Running on exposed rails past the depot. |
The Crich tramway was
chosen as a suitable place for a test run because of the ease of switching from
road to rail mode, and an initial test run was carried out on Saturday 15th
August 1980.
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Close-up of
the front bogie arrangement.. |
The bus used was a former
Hants and Dorset Motor Services Bristol LH (NEL 847M). The traditional front
axle was replaced by a bogie with two road-wheel axles either side of an axle
with two rail-profile steel wheels. This axle could be lowered hydraulically
when running in rail mode to provide rail guidance, the pneumatic tyres still
carrying most of the load. There was a similar guide axle behind the normal rear
axle of the bus.
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Derailed on
the approach to Wakebridge - rear axle had dropped
off the rails. Restricted location made getting recovery equipment into place
particularly tricky. |
The bus made a return trip between Town End and Wakebridge,
but the test was not without incident, as the vehicle derailed on the sharp
curve entering Wakebridge. As the location is in a
narrow rock cutting, restoring the bus to the rails was not entirely
straightforward. A significant factor in the derailment was that the profile of
the rail wheels was intended for use on a normal railway profile rail, rather than
the traditional grooved tramway rails used at the museum. A further trial in
September 1980 (which was attended by a number of
industry professionals) was concluded without any problems.
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At Wakebridge with the rear wheelset safely back on the
rails and now ready for the run back to Town End. |
On 27th July 1980
the vehicle had additionally made test runs on the West Somerset Railway (WSR),
but the project never made any progress beyond these tests at Crich and the WSR.
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Lucas
Aerospace Workers Road-Rail Bus at Bishops Lydeard (West
Somerset Railway) 27th July 1980. |
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With much thanks to, and text by Alan Murray-Rust. |
Ministry of
Defence
Minilok Rail-Road Shunting Locomotive
Long Marsdon
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DH60 awaiting
sale or disposal, one of the two MoD (DSDA) Minilok
rail-roader shunting locomotive at Long Marston Tuesday 3rd March
2009 © Colin Watts |
The Ministry of Defence
(DSDA) operated two Minilok Rail-Roader shunting
locomotives for use at their various sites; the 4w DH60 model having been at both
Ludgershall and Bicester.
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The
driver’s steering wheel (LHD) can be clearly seen as can the 3-link coupling
and railway buffers. © Colin Watts |
BloodandCustard
declines to either confirm or deny that this DH60 Minilok
was ever driven along the public highway to the local filling station in
Ludgershall….
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Detail of
the solid-tyred flangeless rubber rail wheel and the two retractable steel
guide-wheels either side. © Colin Watts |
At the time there were believed to be four Minilocks
in the UK. British Rail had a DH100 at Crewe, there was a DH90 at Sellafield
plus the MoD (DSDA) DH140 and DH60 (as photographed at Long Marston).
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The front wheels undertake the off-rail steering. © Colin Watts |
Although rather diminutive
these have phenomenal haulage capacity for their size as their solid rubber
tyres on steel rails have an adhesion approaching three-times that of traditional
steel rail wheels. Furthermore, as a rail-roader, all of
the Minilok’s mass is available as adhesive weight
(some road-rail vehicles do not).
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Driving-end of 8w DH140 Minilok. © Colin Watts |
These
were made by Minilok allrad-Rangiertecknik
GmbH of Düsseldorf.
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The front bogie undertakes the off-rail steering. © Colin Watts |
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Photographs
and text by retired railwayman and railway historian Colin
Watts. This page may be subject to updates and corrections as further
information becomes available. |
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COPYRIGHT BLOODANDCUSTARD PHOTOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT AS INDICATED |
