What ever it is, I want one or two

[engineshop]

Looking for some pictures for my NWP SD70MAC project, I found this and fell in love.

http://www.qstation.org/BNSF_Pix/BNSF_Trackmobile_2002-04-02_StPaul_MN_a.jpg

[SirTainly]

Ask Randy, he has one!

[SquirrelHollow]

...complete with a scratchbuilt scale test car, for extra electrical pickup. 

[ñiao]

Is it something like PRR rubber tire switchers?
http://prr.railfan.net/RubberTiredSwitchers.html

[bsoplinger]

Is it something like PRR rubber tire switchers?

Similar sort of idea. Drive the motive power from one location to another where it is needed, ie one track to another but not limited to getting there via the rails. The difference is that the PRR unit didn't actually ride the rails like these units do. They have rubber tires that move up or down. When down the vehicle can drive on its tires and isn't tied to the track. When up the fixed position rail wheels are on the rails and move the vehicle only on the rails.

[3rdrail]

That motive power is called a TrackmobileTM. They were made by Marmon-Herrington at LaGrange, Georgia, and come in various sizes, with Randy's model being of one of the largest. Some were as small as a Jeep.

[railbuilderdave]

What era did these get used and by whom?  How can I find out more about getting a model version of these because they would be cool to have on a layout one day? Anybody?
Dave

[asciibaron]

i know of several businesses that use these.  one was tested at Wimpy Minerals/Tarmac in Annapolis Jct last year.  they are around, you just have to look for them.

http://www.trackmobile.com/

and the very cool...

http://www.trackmobile.com/Atlas_V_Video.htm

-steve

[up1950s]

Unless you build your own , you can only drool at others . Somebody else did one in N other than Randy . Both are real show stoppers .

[Bob Bufkin]

CSX had a trackmobile in use around Wash, DC.  I've seen it pulling single gons of coal near the old Virginia Ave tower.

[wazzou]

I thought the earliest Trackmobiles were manufactured by Whiting until the late 80's or so, then being purchased by Marmon. 
Whiting is probably deserving of most of the credit for development of the technology.

Bryan

[Mark5]

B&O also had one or more rubber tired switchers like the one Gregg posted.

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo_tractor.jpg

The model Randy did is one of his best IMHO.

[Norm P]

That motive power is called a TrackmobileTM... Some were as small as a Jeep.

Like this one I photographed a couple of months ago:

[Matthew Roberts]

I know there's a local lime plant that supposedly has a front-end loader with a coupler on the rear to move gons from the plant out to the main.