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Concept
Railcar
Summary
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors" (or "rail motors").
Self-propelled passenger vehicles also capable of hauling a train are, in technical rail usage, more usually called "rail motor coaches" or "motor cars" (not to be confused with the motor cars, otherwise known as automobiles, that operate on roads).
The term is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit which consist of more than one coach. That is the general usage nowadays in Ireland when referring to any diesel multiple unit (DMU), or in some cases electric multiple unit (EMU).
In North America the term "railcar" has a much broader sense and can be used (as an abbreviated form of "railroad car") to refer to any item of hauled rolling-stock, whether passenger coaches or goods wagons (freight cars). Self-powered railcars were once common in North America; see Doodlebug (rail car).
In its simplest form, a "railcar" may also be little more than a motorized railway handcar or draisine.
Railcars are economic to run for light passenger loads because of their small size, and in many countries are often used to run passenger services on minor railway lines, such as rural railway lines where passenger traffic is sparse, and where the use of a longer train would not be cost effective. A famous example of this in the United States was the Galloping Goose railcars of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, whose introduction allowed the discontinuance of steam passenger service on the line and prolonged its life considerably.
Railcars have also been employed on premier services. In New Zealand, although railcars were primarily used on regional services, the Blue Streak and Silver Fern railcars were used on the North Island Main Trunk between Wellington and Auckland and offered a higher standard of service than previous carriage trains.
Official source
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