Budd–Michelin Rubber-tired Rail Cars
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The Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars were built by the
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...
in the United States between 1931 and 1933 using French firm
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
's " Micheline" rail car design. Michelin built its first rail car in 1929, and by 1932 had built a fleet of nine cars that all featured innovative and distinctive pneumatic
tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...
s. In September 1931, an agreement signed between the two companies allowed Budd to use the new rubber rail tires on its shot-welded,
stainless-steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chr ...
carbodies, and at the same time allowed Michelin to expand into the American market. After building two demonstrators in what would become its signature semi-streamlined, fluted stainless-steel style, the Budd Company built four production rubber-tired rail cars for American railroads: one for the Reading Company, two for the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
, and the ''Silver Slipper'' for the
Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...
. All were plagued by problems, chief among them their tendency to derail. By 1935, the ''Silver Slipper'' had been scrapped, and the Pennsylvania's two cars, the longest surviving of the Budd–Michelin collaborations, met the same fate in 1948. While generally regarded as a failure, the ''Silver Slipper'' is sometimes credited as the "first true streamlined passenger train", although it has remained obscure in comparison with other competitors for the title, such as the ''
Pioneer Zephyr The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel engine, diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-po ...
'' and
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
's M-10000. Rubber-tired rail cars achieved greater success in France, and similar rubber-tired subway cars have been adopted in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, and on numerous systems in Europe.


Design

During the 1920s, the American
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...
, at the time a relatively obscure auto-frame supplier, developed an extensive working relationship with the French firm
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
, which was best known for its
tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...
s. In 1929, Michelin built its first rail car, and by 1932 nine of its cars were in operating service, all of which featured innovative and distinctive pneumatic tires. The company claimed that its application of tires on its rail cars afforded both a substantially more cushioned ride and increased the cars' traction by 35%. The design of Michelin's tired wheels included an
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
safety ring and a
flange A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim (wheel), rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase shear strength, strength (as the flange of a steel beam (structure), beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer o ...
that were only used in the event of a puncture or other type of tire failure; during normal operation, only the rubber tire made contact with the rail. Inspired by Michelin's success, the Budd Company set its sights on marrying the new rubber rail tires with its shot-welded,
stainless-steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chr ...
carbodies; it had developed the shot welding process and utilized stainless steel to overcome frame failures that plagued the earlier streamlined McKeen cars, which Budd Company founder Edward G. Budd had helped design early in his career. Michelin likewise took interest in a potential collaboration, chiefly due to its desire to expand into the American market. In September 1931, Budd signed an agreement with Michelin that allowed it to develop and sell Michelin's " Micheline" rail car design in the United States.


Demonstrators

Completed in early 1932, the first of the Budd–Michelin collaborations was a 40-passenger, single-car demonstrator nicknamed the "Green Goose", which rode on 12 wheels and was powered by an
Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
. A second demonstrator, a smaller, 30-passenger car named ''La Fayette'', was sent to France for testing. The two demonstrators were both built in the semi-streamlined, fluted stainless-steel style that would become the Budd Company's signature design.


Production rail cars

The Budd Company built four production rubber-tired rail cars for American railroads: one for the Reading Company, two for the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
, and the ''Silver Slipper'' for the
Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...
. The pneumatic tires for these cars were actually produced by Goodyear under license from Michelin. Beginning in November 1932, the Reading operated its 47-passenger car (which measured long and weighed ) on its New Hope branch. However, its numerous shortcomings, ranging from its bouncy ride and tendency to derail to its low top speed (reputed to be near ) and steep price tag ( $75,000), discouraged the Reading from ordering any more such cars. In 1933, the Pennsylvania took delivery of two rail cars that operated in car-and-trailer configuration. Largely similar to the car ordered by the Reading, these rail cars were also beset by problems with their rubber-tired wheels, which were later replaced with conventional trucks. After being retrofitted, these cars went on to become the longest surviving of the Budd–Michelin rail cars. They remained with the Pennsylvania until 1943, when they were sold to the
Washington and Old Dominion Railroad The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The rail transport, railroad was a successor to the bankruptcy, bankrupt Washingt ...
, a
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
short line that operated them for only a few months; they were ultimately scrapped in 1948.


''Silver Slipper''

The ''Silver Slipper'' was the name bestowed upon the last of the Budd–Michelin rail cars, which was delivered to the
Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...
in October 1933. The two-car train weighted and measured in total length, making it the largest rail vehicle that the Budd Company had built to that point, and substantially heavier than the demonstration and production rubber-tired cars that preceded it. The first car was the
power car In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle: *a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, potentially a multiple unit train, often as the lead vehicle; *a veh ...
, which featured a distinctive "knife-edge" nose, baggage and mail compartments, and conventional steel-wheeled trucks. Powered by two American LaFrance gasoline engines mated to Westinghouse generators, the lead car weighed in all. The second car was the trailing passenger car, which had 16 rubber-tired wheels as well as seating for 76 passengers in an air-conditioned compartment that included a segregated "Jim Crow" section. The second car weighed just in total. The Texas and Pacific intended to enter the ''Silver Slipper'' into operational service between
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, and
Texarkana, Arkansas Texarkana is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Miller County, on the southwest border of the state. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 29,387. It is the twin city of Texarkana, Texas, located just acros ...
. However, it derailed during a test run, and while the trailing coach was outfitted with new trucks, the power car also demonstrated reliability issues. By 1935, the ''Silver Slipper'' had been scrapped.


Legacy

According to John H. White, the ''Silver Slipper'' was a "costly failure" that was "extremely embarrassing" to the Budd Company and ultimately forced the company to abandon its ambitious rubber-tired rail car program altogether. However, Budd did not give up on building lightweight, stainless-steel trains: its very next project was the highly successful ''
Pioneer Zephyr The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel engine, diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-po ...
''. Rubber-tired rail cars achieved greater success in France, as Michelin built 30 for the Eastern Railway of France in 1937. Furthermore, similar rubber-tired subway cars have been adopted in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
as well as on numerous systems in Europe. Brian Solomon notes that the ''Silver Slipper'' is "sometimes cited as the first true streamlined passenger train", although "it remained relatively obscure and never received the national media attention enjoyed by later streamlined trains". Karl Zimmermann concurs, observing that while "the ''Zephyr'' and
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
's M-10000 typically vie for the title of 'first streamliner'", the ''Silver Slipper'' is deserving of consideration for the honor.


See also

*
Rubber-tyred metro A rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road transport, road and rail transport, rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on a roll way inside guide bars for tr ...
* Rubber-tyred trams


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budd-Michelin rubber-tired rail cars North American streamliner trains Rubber-tired rail cars Michelin Reading Company Pennsylvania Railroad Texas and Pacific Railway