The Erie Railroad operated gasoline powered railcar built by the McKeen Motor Car Company between 1906 and 1922. These cars were designed to operate profitably on runs where steam trains were too expensive. Though used successfully on other railroads, the Erie had nothing but trouble with them. The Erie received Union Pacific #7 on May 23, 1906, renumbered it as their own #4000 and ran it on the Newburgh, NY branch until August 1907 when it was returned to the UP due to poor operation. Undeterred, the Erie purchased a similar car (#4001) from McKeen in 1907 for operation on the Newburgh branch and later the Avon-Attica line. Again, they had problems and the car was placed in storage.
Inexplicably, the Erie ordered yet another car from McKeen. Car 4002 was 70 feet long, generated 200 horsepower and began operation on the Erie Railroad branch between Salamanca, NY and Bradford, PA in 1909 and operated until 1922.
Learn More
- Grasso, Jack. 1999. Diamondbugs, The story of the rail motor car on the Erie Railroad. Flanders, NJ: RAE Publishing.