The 200-horsepower (150 kW) engine on the 55-or-70-foot-long (17 or 21 m) units drove only one set of wheels, and the lack of power and traction, the unreliability of their transmissions, and an inability to reverse, were major limitations. The McKeen railmotor was a line of self-propelled gasoline-powered railcars produced between 19. The development of gasoline engines led railroads to seek them as higher efficiency alternatives to steam power for low-volume branch line services at the start of the 20th century. Several railroads, mostly small regional and local networks, provided their main passenger services through doodlebugs in a cost-cutting effort. They were popular with some railroads during the first part of the 20th century to provide passenger and mail service on lightly used branch lines at less expense than with a train consisting of a locomotive and coaches with larger crew. In later years, it was common for doodlebugs to be repowered with a diesel engine.ĭoodlebugs sometimes pulled an unpowered trailer car, but were more often used singly. Early models were usually powered by a gasoline engine, with either a mechanical drive train or a generator providing electricity to traction motors ("gas-electrics"). The name is said to have derived from the insect-like appearance of the units, as well as the slow speeds at which they would doddle or "doodle" down the tracks. Various (mechanical, electric, hydraulic)Ĥ ft 8 + 1⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm) and 3 ft ( 914 mm)ĭoodlebug or hoodlebug is a nickname in the United States for a type of self-propelled railcar most commonly configured to carry both passengers and freight, often dedicated baggage, mail or express, as in a combine. Various, including EMC/ Pullman, Brill/ Mack, McKeen Motor Car Company, Rio Grande Southern Railroad M1, a narrow gauge gas-electric doodlebug that was constructed by EBT from a Brill manufactured kit
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