Buckfastleigh - 5542 between two auto trailers

The Autotrain was a type of passenger train used in the early 20th century, where the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

could be remotely controlled from the rear of the train. This meant that the engine would not have to run-around at the end of a journey before returning. These trains were also known as motor trains or railmotors at the time, but the term

railmotor Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars ...

is now used to refer to trains where the steam engine was integrated into the coach. A driving cab in the rearmost coach (known as an autocoach or auto trailer) has controls to allow the driver to operate the regulator, brake and whistle when driving the train 'in reverse'. The

fireman A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

would remain on the engine in order to stoke the fire and to take off the brakes, as the driver could only apply them. Autotrains could operate with one or two coaches: either with the locomotive at the front or rear of the formation, or sandwiched between the two driving coaches. Autotrains were being used by most rail companies in Great Britain by the 1920s, and were particularly common on

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

services. They remained in widespread use until the 1950s and 1960s, when they were replaced by diesel multiple units (DMUs). They were in effect the ancestor of the modern

driving trailers A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK, Ireland, Australia and India) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or t ...

See also