Travel By Doodlebug

By engineerd™, on July 31st, 2012

In the late 1910s, interest in a self-propelled coach grew enough that several companies began producing them. They were used primarily on small branch lines for service where it did not make financial sense to run a full locomotive. Most had a gasoline engine driving a generator, while some had a gasoline engine connected to a truck via a transmission or even direct drive. They could tow one unpowered car. Doodlebugs could be seen for decades scampering back and forth between cities and outlying areas, operated by small rail companies. They helped connect small towns and villages to city centers and, in doing so, helped connect America.

In the buildup to WWII, many Doodlebug builders and operators went out of business or retooled for wartime production. The larger railroads, flush with cash from the military, started offering more services to areas served by the Doodlebug to get recruits and draftees where they needed to be.

[Image Credit: N2xjk]

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P161911

July 31, 2012 at 1:10 pm · Reply

So basically these were gas powered trolley cars?

engineerd

July 31, 2012 at 1:56 pm · Reply

Pretty much, but used more like a small passenger train connecting towns rather than used within a city.
- CaptianNemo2001
  
  August 1, 2012 at 9:56 am · Reply
  
  Edison also worked on these in a short line in New York. The battery powered cars could in a burst hit over 50 MPH on the, I want to say 5-6 mile loop, track.
- Slow_Joe_Crow
  
  August 2, 2012 at 10:22 am · Reply
  
  Effectively these were the ancestors of the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) and post WWII they were replaced by the Budd RDC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_RDC some of which are still in service.

HycoSpeed

August 1, 2012 at 5:40 am · Reply

Google informs me that this, apparently, is also a doodlebug.

These actually seem like a pretty good idea, if you could keep them from clogging up the regular rail traffic. I mean, you are getting utilization out of existing infrastructure, without much additional investment. Plus, being from Texas, where towns are so spread out that mass transit doesn't always work so well, something small like this might actually have a place. Only 10 people need to ride on certain route? Just Doodlebug it!