What the Hell is this?

[Malcolm]

Didn't know where to post this and finally decided it belonged here.
I have had the top picture a while and been trying to find more about it.
The photo is supposed to be at Harwich, which made me think this was an experimental thing by the LNER. However, I have had a lot of difficulty (no access to a decent library, or decent material in Japan ) in finding any good information.
What I know is:
1. This style of railcar was popular in France.
2. It was tested in Britain, but didn't catch on (had to replace the tyres too many times).
3. There are oblique references to it having been tested on the LMS, SR, and the GWR (see the bottom picture), but not the LNER.
So what I would like to know, if possible, is:

A. Was it tested on the LNER?
B. Is it shown at Harwich just because that was the port it was shipped through on it's way to elsewhere?

This is not important to me, but it would be nice to know.
Can anyone help?

By the way, ugly looking thing, isn't it!

Malcolm

[52D]

Malcolm its a railcar with a difference it actually had rubber tyred pneumatic wheels and somewhere on the net there is a lengthy article about it ive read the article a while ago but cant find its location for you.

George52D

[Malcolm]

Wow George! Awesome!

I used your sentence as a quote in an online search AND FOUND IT:

http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r146.html

Thanks.

Malcolm.

[Bryan]

Are both photos of the same vehicle?

Because the obvious difference in livery and also the tube that is being filled in the first photo is missing in the second.

[Malcolm]

Are both photos of the same vehicle?

Because the obvious difference in livery and also the tube that is being filled in the first photo is missing in the second.

That's why I was asking the questions.

Malcolm

[Bullhead]

It looks marginally preferable to a 142 Pacer unit, that's for sure.

[Malcolm]

Okay, had a sleepless night last night and decided to pursue this topic further.
I had a fair bit of success (don’t you hate people who answer their own questions?) and discovered the following:

After a sleepless night in a sleeper Andre Michelin had an inspiration for pneumatic tyres on railway rolling stock, and in 1929 invented the "Micheline" (railcar) and the train tire.

Micheline Type 9 railcar
The Southern Railway did the first trials in Britain in the Alton and Ascot areas. In June 1932 the London Midland and Scottish Railway took delivery of two of these for trials around Bletchley, one of which was also used by the Great Western Railway in the Oxford area. The two railcars were in different liveries which helps explain the two different pictures I first posted. Technical journals at the time describe considerations being given to streamlining and to transmission systems, and to the problems of noise and vibration. H. Holcroft was critical of the thin flanges on the Michelin railcars. Reference to them is also made in “The Journal of the Historical Model Society” , volume 8, pages 148, 149 & 150 (with illustrations).

Specifications and Descriptions:
Each of the cars was carried on 16 pneumatic-tyred wheels, accommodating 56 passengers, seated, and had a cruising speed of 60 m.p.h., with a maximum of about 75 m.p.h. Each rail-car was driven by a 275 h.p. petrol engine with self-changing gearbox, and could run with equal facility in either direction. Silent and smooth running is a feature of the pneumatic-tyred rail-car. Another distinct advantage is that the pneumatic tyre presents a high co-efficient of friction in contact with the rail, this giving acceleration and braking greatly in excess of the rates possible with steel-tyred cars.

Finally, it appears that Marklin made an HO model for this railcar:
Manufacturer: Märklin/Hamo/Trix.
Construction: Plastic and metal ready-to-run model.
Catalogue number: Hamo 8304 (DC and AC versions available).
Availability: Discontinued
Livery: LMS Red. "Micheline" side panels. (Model produced in other liveries)

Therefore, I can only conclude that the picture was taken at Harwich because that was their port of entry. There is no record (that I can find) of them ever being trialed on the LNER.
Here are a few more pictures (including the Marklin HO model) to finish this off (sorry it was so long).

Malcolm

[hq1hitchin]

It looks marginally preferable to a 142 Pacer unit, that's for sure.

But just about as crashworthy

There was also another French oddity running about for a while, which had a sort of conning tower in which the driver sat. Incidentally, the LMS Derby built three car DMU which was working between Oxford and Cambridge just before the war was well thought of by the Bletchley men who got on it, a shame that circumstances prevented any more being built

[Malcolm]

There was also another French oddity running about for a while, which had a sort of conning tower in which the driver sat.

I believe that would be this.

Malcolm

[hq1hitchin]

There was also another French oddity running about for a while, which had a sort of conning tower in which the driver sat.

I believe that would be this.

Malcolm

Ha ha - that's it. He's even wearing a beret!

[52D]

Have we got a full photo of this contraption.

There was also another French oddity running about for a while, which had a sort of conning tower in which the driver sat.

I believe that would be this.

Malcolm

Ha ha - that's it. He's even wearing a beret!

[Malcolm]

George,

I have one somewhere in my collection under "odd and sods". I'll see if I can dig it out.

Malcolm

[Malcolm]

Here's the bugger, plus a colour shot of a preserved one in France, and, another shot of the first type I posted.

Malcolm