Rubber tired trains

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

Hi,

I'm not sure where to post this question. Hopefully someone can give me some pointers.

I am working on the creation of the Dunwoody Railroad Museum with the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce. We are looking into a 24-36" gauge train set for a 100 acre park.

We are also looking into a trolley bus (rubber tired) concept for tying historical sites together. We are interested in a rubber tired bus that might look like a steam locomotive and possibly one trailer (sort of like the multi-car things used at Universal Studios) that would be used as a local transport system on public roads.

I assume this has been done before. If so, can anyone point me to some contacts?

Thanks.

Doug

Stephen Hussar · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:30 pm

Doug, I was just in Key West and saw these. Maybe try contacting the Conch Tour folks and ask where they got them...

Hope this helps,
Stephen

Dave · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:55 pm

Why not use a genuine antique bus? Certainly there are some available - if the domestic ones aren't touristy enough the British double deckers are.

There's just something about those rubber tired "trolleys" and anything else like them that makes me cringe and take my dollars elsewhere.

dave

Randall Hicks · **Joined:** Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:44 am **Posts:** 154

Dave wrote:

There's just something about those rubber tired "trolleys" and anything else like them that makes me cringe and take my dollars elsewhere.

Dave, I couldn't agree with you more, but we purists are definitely in the minority. These things are quite popular. My wife even likes them. Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American public.

ge44tonner · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:00 pm

There are several companies who build Amusement Park rides and offer "trackless trains" as part of their product line. Dotto and Zamperla come to mind, but there are others as well. Here's a couple of links to get you started:

http://www.wattman.ca/content/products_001.html
http://www.tracklesstrainsales.com/train.html
http://www.zamperla.it/dettaglioImmagin ... _5_500.JPG
http://www.dottotrains.com/eng/index.asp
http://www.choose-a-choo-choo.com/track ... _sales.php
http://www.funtrain.at/funtrain/home/starteng.html
http://www.uk-loco.com/dotto_road_trains.html

Dan Rohrback

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

Thanks for the leads and comments.

As for using antique busses, they want to keep the railroad theme. The Roswell Railroad gave Dunwoody the reason to exist. Since Dunwoody in 1912 had only 500 people, there were no busses and no trolleys, just the railroad.

For me personally, I'd rather take a small GM school bus and paint the body to look like a "covered wagon" diesel locomotive (Put a faux-F7 nose on it and it is still GM factory equipment, just not combined in this way <grin>) and have a small trailer that looks like a caboose. I'd even settle for a Rio Grande Southern style 3-truck Galloping Goose makeover. None of the three were ever used by the Roswell Railroad.

In terms of the newly formed city, the Dunwoody Preservation Trust wants a railroad them to its non-railroad properties. If getting a trackless train will get the Dunwoody Preservation Trust, the City of Dunwoody, The Chamber of Commerce, and the hotels in the new city to buy into allowing a purchase of a 24"-36" gauge train to run on 100 acres, I'll be glad to do it.

I have to play politics and getting the City and the various interests pulling together is the main goal right now.

I understand they can be tacky looking but unless I could get one of the ex-City of Atlanta trolley-busses (I think there are only two left) and erect some double trolley wire overhead, I doubt anything bus like would happen at this time. Oh well.

If I had a BILLION, all parties above would want to rebuild part of the old Roswell and run the train on the old grade. Abandoned since 1921, there are houses, and other buildings on the ROW and that ROW that is not covered by buildings is under part of the existing road.

Once again Thanks for the input. If you have any other ideas, please feel free to offer them.

Doug vV

Bob Davis · **Joined:** Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:25 am **Posts:** 1025

It's probably a losing battle, but I join with many other traction fans in condemning the use of the term "trolley" for anything that doesn't draw motive power from overhead wires. SF cable cars aren't trolleys! Buses "camouflaged" with phony streetcar bodies aren't trolleys! Much as I appreciate and have enjoyed riding the gas-powered streetcar in El Reno OK (which started out as an electric subrurban car) I have to disagree with the locals calling it a "trolley". The other day my wife was looking at a tour brochure, and noted that the itinerary mentioned a "trolley tour" of one of the stopover towns. When she told me the name of the town, I said, "No, that's one of those imitation, bogus buses disguised with a fake streetcar body. No sale!" (most of us "juicefans" can list every city with real trolley and/or third rail power without even thinking very hard.) (and someone is probably saying, "I think we have a sore point here")
Note for our readers in Great Britain: It's OK to call a snack cart that rolls down the aisle of British trains a trolley, but only on that side of the Atlantic, please.

Dougvv · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:52 pm **Posts:** 914

I think a bus-streetcar is the best description.

I happen to think that all "tandem" tractor-trailers should be called rubber tired trains - especially when they become "tripples".

I have been working in sorting railroad names for an 1869 issue of Poors. They have tables of what they call "Street (horse) Railroads" listed by state.

Oh well.

DvV