thumb|A trackless train for tourists in [[Tenerife]]
A trackless train — or tram (U.S. English), road train, land train, or parking lot train is a road-going articulated vehicle used for the transport of passengers, comprising a driving vehicle pulling one or more carriages connected by drawbar couplings, in the manner of a road-going railway train.
Similar vehicles may be used for transport of freight or baggage for short distances, such as at a factory or airport. Often depending on use, land train may or may not be skeuomorphically styled to look like traditional, often steam trains.
Terminology
Trackless train or land train are descriptive terms for the rubber tired road-going vehicles to distinguish them from rail mounted trains.
The train was formed by removing the single front wheels of the tricycles used as carriages and attaching their forks to the tricycle in front. This system developed for Hase tricycles and others also allows the ad-hoc formation of shorter trains for practical use. The longest permanently set up human-powered trackless train is probably the Thuner Trampelwurm consisting of a tricycle as tractor with 10 driven trailers as carriages, in operation as a tourist attraction in the city of Thun since 1994. The chosen geometry of the trailer linkages result in good tracking at the cost of a low maximum speed, about 10 km/h without shimmy.
Public uses
thumb|A trackless train service for tourists in the city of [[York, England]]
Trackless trains are often used for the transport of tourists instead of other public transport modes. These may be seasonal services, linking attractions such as museums and zoos or other tourist destinations with central areas. Often, the train ride itself is a tourist attraction, offering sightseeing along scenic routes as well as a transport service. In the Swiss town of Gruyères, a trackless train is the only vehicle allowed in the pedestrianized streets. A similar train is also used to move students between the train station and the faculties in the Outer Alcalá de Henares University Campus.
Trackless trains are also used in shopping malls to entertain children while their parents are shopping. Trackless trains used for this purpose are commonly smaller and have less power.
A larger and faster form of trackless tram is the rubber-tyred tram used as a public transport alternative to conventional light rail, tram and bus. Others may feature decorative or fun paint schemes to appeal to children. Certain models of trackless train may look the same as narrow-gauge rail guided amusement park trains, due to the common manufacture of both vehicles. Some fifth wheel coupled trailer buses may also be similarly decorated.
Airport baggage trains
Mechanized baggage trains−trams, used at airport terminals, have steering mechanisms similar to those on longer trackless trains, although the tractor units are commonly designed to be frequently detached from the baggage carts, to be used for other purposes. Individual baggage carts are also quickly detachable for parking in loading−unloading areas. Airport baggage trains are often also much longer than the passenger type.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Boarding train at desert of maine.jpg|Trackless Train at the Desert of Maine
File:NishiTokyoBus C20782 New-Seishungou.jpg|A Hino Ranger semi-trailer bus in Japan
File:Petits trains touristiques chantilly.jpg|Two visitor 'trains' at the castle of Chantilly, France
File:Disneyland parking lot tram.jpg|Parking lot tram at Disneyland, California
</gallery>
See also
- Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit
- Guided bus
- Rubber-tyred trams
- Overland train
- Tourist trolley