Pacerailer

4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Pacerailer was a prototype railbus, a vehicle consisting of a bus-style body on a four-wheeled railway-vehicle chassis, built by Charles Sadler Ashby's Sadler Rail Coach Company (SRC) in the 1960s. Unlike most other railbuses, it was intended as a luxurious vehicle which could give good views on scenic routes, and the bodywork and seating was based on motor coaches rather than buses.[1]

Following the closure of Droxford station, on the Meon Valley Railway in Hampshire, both it and the track south to Wickham station were leased by SRC, who used the line to demonstrate the Pacerailer to potential buyers.[2] A section of the line was rebuilt with a 1:10 incline to demonstrate the vehicle's abilities on steep gradients.[3] Weighing just 6 tons, it had a good power-to-weight ratio and could reach 70 mph. The wheels had metal flanges but also solid rubber tyres.[1]

There were problem with vandalism at the site, with the tracks intentionally blocked and points jammed in an effort to derail vehicles, and on 4 May 1970 the Pacerailer prototype was burned out and badly damaged.[4] Ashby was in advanced negotiations to reopen the line between Cowes and Ryde on the Isle of Wight using Pacerailers. It was alleged that one of the Isle of Wight's bus companies was behind the vandalism and arson at Droxford.[5] The underframe survives; as of 2022 it is currently located on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, used as the structure for a pedestrian bridge.

Ashby died in February 1976 and SRC was dissolved in December 1976, having failed to sell the Pacerailer to any railway company.[6]

A similar concept, the Pacer, was successfully developed by British Rail in the 1980s.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Course 1974.
  2. ^ a b Buttrey 2012, p. 83.
  3. ^ Stone 1983, p. 106.
  4. ^ Buttrey 2012, p. 85.
  5. ^ Buttrey 2012, pp. 85–86.
  6. ^ Buttrey 2012, p. 90.

Bibliography

  • Buttrey, Pam (2012). A History of Droxford Station. Corhampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-93-6.
  • Stone, R. A. (1983). The Meon Valley Railway. Southampton: Kingfisher Railway Productions. ISBN 978-0-946184-04-0.
  • Course, Edwin (1974). The Railways of Southern England, Volume 2: Secondary and Branch lines. Batsford. p. 234. ISBN 0-7134-2835-X.

External links

  • New Life for Old Lines on YouTube - Film of the Sadler Pacerailer by British Movietone News, Issue 1964 23 January 1967
  • Getty Images photograph of Ashby with the Pacerailer
  • 2007 newspaper letter with details of the arson incident
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