I recently purchased a doodle bug because I’ve always wanted one. I did my historical research and I can’t seem to find out what it actually pulled? I’ve heard it generally ran by itself or pulled a small car behind it. Anyone know which car I should get?
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A coach would be good, say a 70' one or a single boxcar for lcl stuff.
@O G Beginner STL posted:I recently purchased a doodle bug because I’ve always wanted one. I did my historical research and I can’t seem to find out what it actually pulled? I’ve heard it generally ran by itself
Mostly correct, i.e. by itself.
or pulled a small car behind it. Anyone know which car I should get?
A coach.
On the old Ma & Pa, #61 was frequently seen with an old baggage car or a single boxcar in tow.
PD
I read someplace that Pennsy purchased all theirs WITHOUT RPO sections, so they often pulled an RPO (railway post office car/mail car) on routes that still had a contract. An express car or LCL also might make sense.
Many Gas-Electrics had 15 ft RPO sections and fewer coach seats. I think all doodlebugs had small baggage sections.
So if your version does not have an RPO, that would be a nice touch.
@O G Beginner STL posted:I recently purchased a doodle bug because I’ve always wanted one. I did my historical research and I can’t seem to find out what it actually pulled? I’ve heard it generally ran by itself or pulled a small car behind it. Anyone know which car I should get?
Which doodlebug you ordered might make a difference if you're trying to display something akin to the prototype.
There are images of PRR doodlebugs with more than one coach. But Lionel's UP doodlebug is a defect detector car which I believe would run by itself.
On a final point, I would run a PRR RailKing coach with mine. A scale passenger car may look out of place next to these doodlebugs. However, this is a personal preference.
On the LV, a daily doodlebug ran on the branch from mainline connection at Landstown to Clinton, NJ and often switched cars at the Clinton Freight House during layover. Full story was in an article in either Trains magazine or Railroad magazine.
Walter
Well, obviously, a Doodle Bug pulled a Doodle Buggy.
The Santa Fe M-190 doodlebug ("Motorcar", more politely), although a 3-truck articulated one-of-a-kind, often had a car or two in tow...
ATSF M-190 photo w/heavyweights
ATSF M-190 photo w/streamliner
The large Santa Fe doodlebug fleet mostly operated in the flat lands of the mid west prairie states. As such they frequently would have a car...freight or combo/passenger...or two...or more in tow serving remote branchline customers, urgent needs, etc., etc..
Besides...in the 1:48 world, it's your railroad. And with some time-consuming searching of webs, books, libraries, and the like, you could probably find a prototype 1:1 version of your choice of trailers.
Have fun!
KD
The Baltimore & Ohio generally had a baggage/postal combine trailing their doodlebugs. (We called them Puddle-Jumpers).
For prototype operation, the type of car may depend on the railroad being modeled. The Chicago Great Western used them to power trains consisting of several coaches:
The Black River & Western used to have one and it's coach. That got sold a while ago and is now out west in Arizona I think it said. It is in operating order as well.
@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:The Black River & Western used to have one and it's coach. That got sold a while ago and is now out west in Arizona I think it said. It is in operating order as well.
Actually the ex-BR&W doodlebug is owned by the Allentown & Auburn Railroad.
The C&O had 6 Brill gas-electric doodlebugs and 3 trailer cars. The trailer cars were specially built to be "lightweight" so that the under powered Brill's could pull them. Looked like a 70 foot heavyweight combine except for a rounded, flat profile roof and 4 wheel trucks. Very spartan cars with a coal stove and walkover seats and I understand the ride was very rough. The Brills were retired in the late 50's and in the early 60's the trailers were coupled to single RDC's for additional express space.
Ken
The PRR purchased 5 Brill model 660 gas-electrics: #4666-4670. The largest bodied models the railroad owned. They had several assignments in the east and when traffic warranted, would pull a P70 coach or PBM54 along.
The Sunset model is a replica of this type.
In most cases, only the No.1 (front) truck was powered, and the prime mover was somewhere in the 300 hp range. Their two traction motors were not very robust. That's why they were not suitable for pulling a train. Two cars was about the limit for them to pull, and, photos often depict them running solo. But, as others have pointed out, some railroads used them to pull a boxcar or a trailer coach.
Dkdkrd mentioned the Santa Fe M-190, which became well known as the power car for the Clovis to Carlsbad passenger train, regularly pulling a Budd streamlined chair observation car. It was quite a bit more robust than most doodlebugs, with two powered trucks and 900 horsepower. It pulled short freight trains at times during its service life, but it was not a typical doodlebug. Neither was its backup on the Carlsbad train, the M-160, a large 600 horsepower Brill car. Neither of those cars had a passenger compartment and were intended to pull a coach.
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