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Repositioning railcars in a rail-switching operation has always been a formidable task. Before the advent of the mobile Railcar Mover, large locomotives were often employed to move railcars. Locomotives were expensive, immobile (limited to track use) and over-powered for the situation.
In the late 1940s, steel wheel Railcar Movers were developed. These early devices had steel wheels and employed "weight transfer" technology to move railcars. Weight from the attached railcar was mechanically transferred onto the Railcar Mover by lifting the railcar by its coupler in order to gain tractive power. The smaller device had off-track mobility and was considerably less expensive than a locomotive.
Unfortunately, the weight transfer process (which some manufacturers still employ) caused shock loading. Shock loading is created from rail vibration or sudden coupler movement. It is transferred to the Railcar Mover, jars the operator and ultimately causes component failure. The risk of lifting the railcar off the rail wheel truck was another notable shortcoming of Railcar Movers that depend on weight transfer from railcars.
The Shuttlewagon's rubber tire drive system eliminates the need to borrow weight from the railcar, permits the coupler to connect directly with the railcar coupler and move freely, reduces axle weight, and improves component life by reducing shock loading.
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