Railcars for personal vehicles systems

Abstract

Railcars for personal vehicles provides train passengers with a method for bringing their automobile with them as they travel. This system utilizes pallets and fork-lifts specially designed to hold automobiles. Vehicles can be loaded and unloaded from both sides of a railcar making for fast and easy loading. This system allows travelers and commuters to ride on public transportation with the convenience of having their own vehicle for transportation one they have reached their destination.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application is related to and claims priority from prior provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 251,711, filed Oct. 14, 2009 which application is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates generally to the field of transportation and more specifically relates to railcars for personal vehicles systems.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Many people in modern society use private and public transportation to commute between locations. Public transportation is efficient and decreases pollution of our environment. Individuals would find the notion of using public transportation more appealing if they knew that they would have their private transportation, namely a vehicle to drive once they arrived at their journey's end. Many people ride on trains, buses and airplanes when traveling only to have to rent a car after they've arrived. Renting a v...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]In certain embodiments the multi-level railcar of the railcar for personal vehicle transport system comprises a door, or in alternate embodiments may comprise a plurality of side doors. In other embodiments the multi-level railcar may comprise front and / or back doors or side doors located on multiple levels. In the preferred embodiment the present invention has a first side door located on a first side of the multi-level railcar and a second side door located on a second side of the multi-level railcar, wherein the second side door is located in an opposed position to the first side door on the multi-level railcar. This feature provides that the private transporter is unloadable through either the first side door or through the second side door to increase function ability and time-efficiency in loading and unloading processes. Further, the unloading location may only allow for unloading off of one side or the other of the multi-level railcar, allowing increased flexibility in-use.

[0014]A method of using a railcar for personal vehicle transport system is also disclosed herein comprising the steps of: loading at least one private transporter for a commuter on a multi-level railcar; boarding (allowing the boarding of) the commuter on a passenger railcar directly or indirectly hooked to the multi-level railcar (in a train formation); the passenger railcar and the multi-level railcar traveling to a final destination such that when the passenger railcar and the multi-level railcar arrive at the final destination the private transporter is unloaded so that the commuter is able to drive his / her private transporter (personal vehicle) from the final destination to another desired destination. The loading step may comprise of the private transporter being loaded into the multi-level railcar through the first side door or the second side door of the multi-level railcar via the lifter. The commuter's luggage and other such items may be stored in the private transporter enroute to the final destination for increased efficiency and decreased delay(s).

Problems solved by technology

Renting a vehicle is an extra expense and hassle that many users would like to eliminate.

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