Speeder

A speeder (also known as railway motor car, putt-putt, track-maintenance car, crew car, jigger, trike, quad, trolley or inspection car, and also known as a draisine (although that can also be unpowered) is a maintenance of way motorized vehicle formerly used on railroads around the world by track inspectors and work crews to move quickly to and from work sites. Although it is slow compared to a train or car, it is called speeder because it is faster than a human-powered vehicle such as a handcar. Motorised inspection cars date back to at least 1896, when it was reported that the U.S. Daimler Motor Company created a gasoline powered rail inspection car capable of 15 mph.

In the 1990s, speeders were replaced with trucks (usually pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles) using flanged wheels that could be lowered for on-rail (called road-rail vehicles or hi-rails for highway-railroad). Speeders are collected by hobbyists, who refurbish them for excursions organized by the North American Railcar Operators Association in the U.S. and Canada and the Australian Society of Section Car Operators, Inc. in Australia.

Speeder (motor vessel)

Speeder was a motor launch built in 1908 which served on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. From 1908 to 1922 this vessel was named Bainbridge.

Design and construction

Speeder was built in 1908 at Seattle, Washington for the Eagle Harbor Transportation Company The original name of the vessel was Bainbridge.

As originally built, the vessel was 79 feet (24 m) long, 12.5 feet (3.8 m) beam, and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in depth of hold. Overall size was 39 gross and 26 registered tons. Only two crew were required according to the 1911 merchant vessel registry. As of 1911, the vessel was powered with a gasoline engine that generated 80 indicated horsepower. The vessel's U.S. Registry number was 205199.

Bainbridge was built to run on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route and was the fastest vessel of the type yet constructed when built.

Career

In 1910 Bainbridge was purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company. PSN was then engaged in a strong competition with the Kitsap County Transportation Company, which had deployed a similar vessel, the gasoline launch Doncella to run against Bainbridge. There was a near-collision between the two vessels off Duwamish Head, in which, it was reported at the time that “'women fainted in fright.'” As a result of this incident, charges were brought against Capt. Carl Freese of the Bainbridge and Capt. George W. Keeney of Doncella.

Landspeeder

Landspeeders are fictional anti-gravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars expanded universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.

Origin and design

Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Two of them—Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) X-34 and a V-35—were designed by noted special effects artist John Stears and were fitted around cars. Skywalker's landspeeder was designed and built by Ogle Design around the chassis of a Bond Bug. One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create the illusion that the craft was hovering. For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape).Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and a broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust.Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope.Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Doug Chiang design the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns."