- This article is about trackless trains. For road trains that carry freight see road train, for other trains see train (disambiguation). A road train or roadtrain is a Trucking concept used in remote areas of Australia, the United States, and Western Canada to move
A trackless train, also known as a land train or road train, is a series of connected road vehicles, used for transporting groups of people short distances. Trackless trains are often, but not always, shaped like a railway train. A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another They do not run on rails.
The term land train or road train is common in Europe, where such a vehicle may also be known as a Dotto train after the name of a leading manufacturer. In North America the term trackless train is more common, and the terms tram or parking lot tram may also be used. [1][2]
A trackless train usually consists of a gasoline or electric engine-powered tractor unit pulling a number of small, articulated trailers or carriages in the manner of a railroad train. An electric motor uses Electrical energy to produce Mechanical energy. A Trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle The carriages are usually open-sided, but doors add a safety restraint, and may be covered over with plastic in inclement weather. There are various sizes and designs available, and depending on the design, each trailer may seat between 6 and 20 persons.
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Uses
Trackless trains are often used for the transport of tourists instead of buses in beach resorts, at amusement parks and zoos, or for sight-seeing along scenic routes. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another The National Railway Museum runs a trackless train between its York museum and York Minster. The National Railway Museum (NRM is a Museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling York ( is an historic Walled city sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. York Minster is a Gothic Cathedral in York, England and is the second largest of its kind in Northern Europe (largest is the In the Swiss town of Gruyères, a trackless train is the only vehicle allowed in the pedestrianised streets. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Gruyères is a city in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Car-free zones (also known as auto-free zones and pedestrian zones) are areas of a city or town in which automobile traffic is prohibited [3] In some places, hiring of trackless trains for special events is possible.
A particularly heavy user of trackless trains has been the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where they are used to move guests between the outlying parking areas and the entrance plaza, hence the name parking lot tram. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives builds and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts as well as a variety Disney and other movie studio themed parks also use trackless trains on their studio backlot tours. A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films.
Steering mechanism
When the trackless train turns, the tractor pulls the first car's front wheels into the turn. Cross links from the car's front wheels steer the rear wheels in the opposite direction, so that they follow the arc of the turn. A tow bar from the rear of the first car pulls the front wheels of the second car into the turn in the same way. With all the wheels following the same arc, the train moves as if it were on rails. Airport baggage trains use the same mechanism. If the rear wheels didn't steer, they would track toward the inside of the turning circle. The train could still turn, but less smoothly, and with a much greater turning radius.
See also
- Monorail
- Road train, a train of a tractor and several trailers for road goods transport, not employing special steering mechanism described above. A monorail is a transportation system based on a single beam The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system or the vehicles travelling on such a beam or A road train or roadtrain is a Trucking concept used in remote areas of Australia, the United States, and Western Canada to move
- Tourist trolley, tourist bus with a look of vintage streetcar (tram). A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber tired Bus (usually Diesel fueled sometimes Compressed natural gas) made to resemble
References
- ^ Dotto Trains - Company Information. Dotto Trains. Retrieved on 2008-04-23. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at
- ^ Florida Theme Park Parking. Florida Review and Travel Guide. Retrieved on 2008-04-24. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to
- ^ Petit train de Gruyères website
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