A trackless train — or tram ( U.S. English), road train, land train, or parking lot train is a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

-going

articulated vehicle An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were somet ...

used for the transport of

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. Th ...

s, comprising a driving vehicle pulling one or more

carriages A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping a ...

connected by drawbar couplings, in the manner of a road-going

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

. Similar vehicles may be used for transport of freight or baggage for short distances, such as at a factory or airport.

Terminology

''Trackless train'' or ''land train'' are descriptive terms for the

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British 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 (engineering), t ...

-going vehicles to distinguish them from rail mounted

s. ''Parking lot tram'' is a common name in the US, reflecting its use in

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

transport. The lack of a widely accepted generic name for trackless trains often leads to them being called trams,

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

s or road trains. Due to cultural terminology differences, ''trackless train'', ''tram'' and ''parking lot tram'' usages occur in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, while ''land train'' and ''road train'' are used in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Technology

A trackless train usually consists of a tractor unit pulling a number of articulated trailers or carriages in the manner of a

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

-hauled

. The tractor unit can be powered by an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...

or an

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...

. Carriages may seat between 6 and 40 persons, and can be roofed or not, featuring open or closed sides and various levels of interior comfort such as padded seats. If open, depending on climate they may feature plastic or fiberglass corrugated panels overhead, to divert rain and provide some measure of shade. Alternative designs may use a cloth

awning An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a li ...

overhead for similar purposes. Carriages usually contain latchable doors or chains to act as safety measures to prevent exit while in motion. Carriages and tractor false bodies are constructed in either

fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

or aluminum, and may feature levelling suspension. As in a regular road vehicle, the tractor unit is steered through the front wheels by a

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light an ...

operated by a human driver, and powered by its rear single or double

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, beari ...

. The following carriages are then steered through the drawbar couplings between the carriages. Simple trains with few carriages or short in overall length may feature single- or double-axle carriages with just front-axle steering only. Larger or longer trains feature four-wheel steering by way of mechanical linkages. Four-wheel steering ensures that longer trains need less side clearance while turning, as the carriages are able to maintain the same path, describing a constant radius of arc. This adds to the impression of the vehicle being on rails. The drawbar connections of more complex trains may feature a

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most ...

to mitigate the effect of

acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...

or braking.

Public uses

Trackless trains are often used for the transport of tourists instead of other

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

modes. These may be seasonal services, linking attractions such as

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

s and

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

s or other tourist destinations with central areas. Often, the train ride itself is a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

, offering

sightseeing Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism m ...

along scenic routes as well as a transport service. In the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

town of

Gruyères Gruyères (; frp, Gruviéres ; german: Greyerz) is a town in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The medieval town is an important tourist location in the upper valley of the Saane/Sarine river, and gives its nam ...

, a trackless train is the only vehicle allowed in the

pedestrianized Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

streets. A similar train is also used to move students between the train station and the faculties in the Outer Alcalá de Henares University Campus. Trackless trains are also used in shopping malls to entertain children while their parents are shopping. Trackless trains used for this purpose are commonly smaller and have less power. A larger and faster form of trackless tram is the

rubber-tyred tram A rubber-tyred tram (also known as tramway on tyres, french: tramway sur pneumatiques) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires (either ...

used as a public transport alternative to conventional light rail,

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

and bus. In some countries in

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, ...

usually carries 3

, these trackless trains can often carry only 38 passengers.

Private uses

Trackless trains are also often operated for the exclusive use of customers of resorts or

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s, both as internal transport systems entirely within their premises either from parking areas and between attractions, or as rides in themselves. A particularly heavy user of trackless trains has been the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where they are used to move guests between the outlying parking lots and the park entrances. 16 trams reside at

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks ...

, and 28 trams reside at

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, and other

movie studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the productio ...

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s also use trackless trains on their studio backlot tours. Purdue University has the

Boilermaker Special The Boilermaker Special is the official mascot of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It resembles a Victorian-era railroad locomotive and is built on a truck chassis. It is operated and maintained by the student members of the Purdu ...

as its mascot.

Appearance

While some trackless trains are functional or modern in appearance, many are often constructed with false bodywork and are painted to look like nineteenth century

steam train 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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s. Others may feature decorative or fun paint schemes to appeal to

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

ren. Certain models of trackless train may look the same as

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

rail guided amusement park trains, due to the common manufacture of both vehicles. Some fifth wheel coupled trailer buses may also be similarly decorated.

Airport baggage trains

Mechanized baggage trains−trams, used at

airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer th ...

s, have steering mechanisms similar to those on longer trackless trains, although the tractor units are commonly designed to be frequently detached from the baggage carts, to be used for other purposes. Individual baggage carts are also quickly detachable for parking in loading−unloading areas. Airport baggage trains are often also much longer than the passenger type.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trackless Train Land vehicles Public transport by mode Articles containing video clips