Road-Rail Midi-Buses To Start Revenue Service On December 25
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
There’s more about this bus in this article on Coach and Bus Week, which is entitled Japan Launches Road-Rail Bus.
Engineers have been trying to design a road-rail busfor decades. Finally, it looks like one is up and running.
The Anonymous Widower 
They might have asked South Wales Fire and Rescue who have this solution to service the Severn Tunnel in case of emergencies.
R2R Vehicle 3 – South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/newsroom/news/new-road-to-rail-vehicle-to-help-firefighters-and-ambulance-crews-reach-severn-tunnel-emergencies/r2r-vehicle-3/
The Shikoku Seaside Railway as it’s described in one Japanese article is about 8.5kms long compared with the 7kms for the Severn Tunnel, however when you factor in the tunnel approaches I doubt there’s any difference in the lengths.
Comparing the above link and a Japanese video the principle design features of the adaption appear to be the same, although the conversion of the South Wales F&R truck was carried out by a North Wales company, They might have asked South Wales Fire and Rescue who have this solution to service the Severn Tunnel in case of emergencies.
R2R Vehicle 3 – South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/newsroom/news/new-road-to-rail-vehicle-to-help-firefighters-and-ambulance-crews-reach-severn-tunnel-emergencies/r2r-vehicle-3/
The Shikoku Seaside Railway is about 8.5kms long compared with the 7kms for the Severn Tunnel however when you factor in the tunnel approaches I doubt there’s any difference in the lengths.
Comparing the above link and a Japanese video the principle design features of the adaption appear to be the same, although the conversion of the South Wales F&R truck have been carried out by a North Wales company, GOS Tool & Engineering Services
https://www.gosengineering.co.uk/rail/on-track-plant-machines-otp/lorry-based-road-rail-vehicles/
I wonder whether GOS will be inspired to convert a midi bus
Comment by fammorris | December 21, 2021 |
There are photos of GOS road-rail cranes in an article and advert pages 79-81 in this months December/January issue of Rail Technology magazine. https://mag.railtechnologymagazine.com/publication/?m=62824&i=732143&p=82&ver=html5
Comment by jason leahy | December 22, 2021 |
I just found photos of over a dozen old road-rail buses and coaches on google image search and articles starting with the experimental road-rail coach run by London, Midlands and Scottish Railway from 1931 or 32. Another idea that is supposed to be new but is old like electric buses, prototype Daimler Benz 1885 and production Pope Manufacturing Company, USA 1899-1909 and ev double decker buses Electric Vehicle Company, UK 1906-09 which carried passengers in London 1907-10 and Brighton 1908-17.
https://railwaywondersoftheworld.com/coaches-for-road-rail.html
Comment by jason leahy | December 22, 2021 |
NHK TV report at this link
Comment by Fenline Scouser | December 22, 2021 |
It was a good video and proves NHK is good when it comes to the promotion of Japan but it obviously didn’t look to the history of these vehicles.
It’s not for want of trying but the British magazine photo from 1931, shows a “Road-Rail Car” which was actually a public bus with 2 sets of wheels allowing it to run on the roads or on railway lines. These dual mode vehicles were known both here and in North America as guided buses, hi-rail, (from highway and railway), high-rail, Hy-rail, etc https://www.alamy.com/magazine-photograph-from-1931-showing-the-newly-introduced-road-rail-car-actually-a-public-bus-with-2-sets-of-wheels-allowing-it-to-run-on-the-roads-or-on-railway-lines-the-dual-mode-vehicles-are-sometimes-known-as-guided-buses-hi-rail-from-highway-and-railway-high-rail-hirail-hy-rail-etc-image380023641.html
In the 1940’s the Long Island Railroad built a similar vehicle and this was followed in 1952 by German road rail buses that were in service for over a decade. Although the passengers remained on the bus during the transition from road to rail and back, the process was inordinately slow and cumbersome as the vehicle was lifted in order to fit or remove the rail wheels.
More recently companies like Canadian Pacific and other North American operators ran converted Blue Bird Corporation School Buses, using the early technology from which the Japanese vehicle is descended.
So you can see the Japanese DMV with its dependence on modern road railing technology is but one of many attempts to develop a successful solution to the need for a combined road and rail bus.
Apart from the issue of incorporating vehicle ‘signalling’ the only other thing they need to do is meet rail vehicle collision standards to run on JR tracks
Comment by fammorris | December 22, 2021 |
I can remember seeing on Tomorrow’s World in the 1960s, a British Rail experiment to link truck trailers together to form a train on the rails.
I suppose that because of the shortage of video tape, the BBC hasn’t got any episodes from that far back.
Comment by AnonW | December 22, 2021
I thought this rescue vehic
Comment by fammorris | December 23, 2021