| Road-rail Vehicle |
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Information AboutRoad-rail Vehicle |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ROAD-RAIL VEHICLE | |
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A Road-rail vehicle is a Self-propelled Vehicle that can be legally used on both Road s and Rail s. They are sometimes referred to as a '''Hy-rail''' or '''HiRail'''. They are normally converted rubber Tire d Road Vehicle s that have additional steel wheels for running on rails. Because one set of wheels would normally foul the other if both were down, a pneumatic system is employed to lower and raise the rail wheels. Such vehicles are normally used for Permanent Way maintenance during Engineering Possession s of the line. They can be driven on roads to near the site and then convert to rail vehicle for the final journey to the worksite. This avoids both the complex manouevres that would be associated with a rail vehicle, and the problem with a road vehicle of accessing the worksite if the worksite is not near a road. Since they are normally converted road vehicles, they would not fare well in a collision with a heavy Rolling Stock and therefore can only drive on railways under an engineering possession. However, there have been other uses for road-rail vehicles. The Canadian company Brandt has converted large Truck Tractor Unit s for use as Locomotive s that can move by road to where they are needed. Still mostly used for P-way maintenance, they can also be employed as Thunderbird Locomotive s or even used in normal service, where they are suitable for smaller operators. In the 1930s the LMS also tried a road-rail Bus that was unsuccesful. SEE ALSO
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