Doodlebug (railcar)

[[File:RGS Goose 2 1940.jpg|thumb|Rio Grande Southern [[Galloping Goose (railcar)|Galloping Goose]] No. 2]]

[[File:RGS Goose 2 1940.jpg|thumb|Rio Grande Southern [[Galloping Goose (railcar)|Galloping Goose]] No. 2]]

Production of self-propelled railcars dropped with the onset of the [[Great Depression]]. However, their low operating costs prompted the construction of the [[Galloping Goose (railcar)|Galloping Goose]] railcars built by the [[Rio Grande Southern Railroad]] (RGS) from used [[Buick]] and [[Pierce-Arrow]] automobiles with a custom-built cargo box or flatbed behind the body. The RGS built eight Geese in its own shops between 1931 and 1936, including one for the [[San Cristobal Railroad]].{{sfn|Ferrell|1973|pp=321–324}} The RGS did not use the Galloping Goose name until very late in its history, instead referring to the vehicles as ''motors'' and later as ''buses''. According to local folklore, the nickname was coined as a reference to their rocking gait or the goose-like tone of their horns, but rail historian Mallory Hope Ferrell notes that the term ''galloping goose'' had previously been used to refer to doodlebugs operating on other railroads, notably the [[Northern Pacific Railway]], in the 1920s.{{sfn|Ferrell|1973|p=322}} Most of the RGS Geese have been preserved, with several in operating condition.

Production of self-propelled railcars dropped with the onset of the [[Great Depression]]. However, their low operating costs prompted the construction of the [[Galloping Goose (railcar)|Galloping Goose]] railcars built by the [[Rio Grande Southern Railroad]] (RGS) from used [[Buick]] and [[Pierce-Arrow]] automobiles with a custom-built cargo box or flatbed behind the body. The RGS built eight Geese in its own shops between 1931 and 1936, including one for the [[San Cristobal Railroad]].{{sfn|Ferrell|1973|pp=321–324}} The RGS did not use the Galloping Goose name until very late in its history, instead referring to the vehicles as ''motors'' and later as ''buses''. According to local folklore, the nickname was coined as a reference to their rocking gait or the goose-like tone of their horns, but rail historian Mallory Hope Ferrell notes that the term ''galloping goose'' had previously been used to refer to doodlebugs operating on other railroads, notably the [[Northern Pacific Railway]], in the 1920s.{{sfn|Ferrell|1973|p=322}} All but one of the RGS Geese have been preserved, with several in operating condition.

Factory production of doodlebugs was revived in 1949 with introduction of the [[Budd Rail Diesel Car]].

Factory production of doodlebugs was revived in 1949 with introduction of the [[Budd Rail Diesel Car]].