Budd-Michelin Silver Slipper 100

The "Burlington Bulletin" No. 13 (4th quarter 1984), the publication of the Burlington Route Historical Society, had an article entitled "Shovelnoses" by Hol Wagner. This was a history of the CB&Q articulated shovelnose Zephyrs, and included the following:

"...Budd went looking for a suitable diesel engine to power a lightweight railcar. While searching for such an engine in Europe, where diesel technology was more advanced, the Budd Company entered into an unusual agreement with Michelin, the famed French tire producer. Budd licensed Michelin to use Budd's stainless steel fabrication methods, and in return, Budd was granted U.S. rights to Michelin's pneumatic rubber-tired flanged wheel for railcars. Michelin, as experience would quicly show, got the far better part of the deal. At any rate, Budd soon settled on German-built Junkers diesel engines and in 1932 proceeded to construct an experimental fluted-side stainless steel railcar with an 82-horsepower Junkers engine and Michelin wheels. The 32-passenger bus-like car, dubbed the "Green Goose," was successful enough that several additional, somewhat larger cars were subsequently built: one for export to France, one for the Reading, a pair for the Pennsylvania Railroad and a two-car trainset for the Texas & Pacific. The Michelin rubber-tired flanged wheels, however, simply didn't live up to expectations, and the T&P order utilized them only under its unpowered trailer. A domestic source of suitable diesel engines was also located, and U.S.-built Cummins diesels were consequently used in the PRR cars, although the T&P power car utilized a pair of American LaFrance gasoline engines. The T&P trainset, intended for service between Fort Worth and Texarkana, Tex., is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it abandoned the unsuccessful Michelin wheels (on the power unit, at least) in favor of a pair of standard trucks, with traction motors on the lead truck, right under the engines, as on conventional motor cars. Next, its styling was less like that of a bus and more like the streamlined trains soon to come. In fact, some consider it the first streamlined train in the United States. It featured a sloping though quite angular prow, and its trailer had a rounded rear end (a desigh feature frequently used since the early 1900's on motor cars, especially McKeen and General Electric products). And its stainless steel sidea and roof set the pattern for future Budd construction, being an integral part of the all-stainless steel carbody structure, and with large fluted sheathing below the belt rail and much smaller fluting on the roof sheathing. (The pier or window panels on these cars also had the roof-style fluted sheathing, something not used on subsequent production). This fluted sheathing was not only attractive, it also added greatly to the strength of the sides and roof. The T&P trainset was already under construction when the Burlington placed its Zephyr order in June 1933. Completed in October, T&P power car 100 and trailer 150 were tested on the Burlington in Chicago suburban territory before being delivered to Texas, where the motor train was promptly named "Silver Slipper" due to one of the power car's less desirable operating characteristics. Unfortunately, quite unlike the soon-to-follow Zephyrs, the T&P cars were anything but successful and were quickly returned to Budd and eventually scrapped. It should be noted, however, that their failure in service was in no way related to their stainless steel construction but rather to shortcomings in their propulsion system and in the Michelin wheels of the trailer.