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Road-rail Transport Discussed
Page 42
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APAPER entitled "Some Speculation on the Future of Railway Mechanical Engineering" was read by Mr. F. T. Barwell, of the British Transport Commission to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Railway Engineers Group, on Wednesday. Although this was concerned mainly with purely railway practice and permanent way construction, there were sections dealing with combined road and rail transport.
Examples included the road-railer where a semi-trailer carries retractable rail wheels, and the American Portager system, where a conventional semi-trailer is lifted bodily on to a special railway wagon. This has a platform for the trailer wheels at one end and a fifth rt8 wheel coupling is fitted at the other end.
Details were also given of a speculative scheme where The railway proper consisted of a flat concrete bed, such as on a road, with a central raised flange. the purpose was to guide the vehicle and also to act as the " rotor" for linear motion.
In a diagram, these vehicles were shown to be tandem-axle semi-trailers forming a train. Special bogies supported the front ends of the trailers and were connected to the rear of the trailer in front. The bogies had conventional road wheels and carried the driving motor. They also incorporated guide wheels. Similar guide wheels were located between the wheels of the semi-trailer.