# show us your critters...



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

I'm a big fan of critters (small industrial and maintenance vehicles) and am always on the lookout for new ones. Almost every engine I have is at least marginally critter status. This has to be one of the most *strange* and *unusual* critters I've ever seen...



















...and yes it's powered.

little critter movie

Just *don't* ask me how they got a motor into it!  I even found an article on how to install DCC!

Greg


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Sorry I couldn't resist.:laugh:


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Greg, that red one looks like a motorized coke machine!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Greg,

Those beige-color thing on the side are actually accordian-style flexible bladders. The car actually starts out as a standard 40', then someone goes inside, pushes the magic button, and the whole thing squishes itself up to what you see above, using the latest nano-technology. Much more efficient to run them that way on the rails in real life.

(He says tongue in cheek ...)

TJ

PS -- Hey Ed ... is that a NEW JERSEY devil you got going there ?!?


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

What a truly amazing rate of thread decomposition... 

Greg


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

tjcruiser said:


> Greg,
> 
> Those beige-color thing on the side are actually accordian-style flexible bladders. The car actually starts out as a standard 40', then someone goes inside, pushes the magic button, and the whole thing squishes itself up to what you see above, using the latest nano-technology. Much more efficient to run them that way on the rails in real life.
> 
> ...


You never saw the Critters Movie TJ? 1986











Greg, I guess your about the only one that has any "train" critters.


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## Smokestack Lightning (Oct 31, 2010)

big ed said:


> You never saw the Critters Movie TJ? 1986
> 
> 
> View attachment 5536
> ...


Was that..like..a guy in a critter suit..Because they didn't..like have computers in 1986. How did they do the CGI?


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## Smokestack Lightning (Oct 31, 2010)

choo choo said:


> I'm a big fan of critters (small industrial and maintenance vehicles) and am always on the lookout for new ones. Almost every engine I have is at least marginally critter status. This has to be one of the most *strange* and *unusual* critters I've ever seen...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I love that green critter. Diggin the rivets. Nice backdrop as well:thumbsup:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

choo choo said:


> I'm a big fan of critters (small industrial and maintenance vehicles) and am always on the lookout for new ones. Almost every engine I have is at least marginally critter status. This has to be one of the most *strange* and *unusual* critters I've ever seen...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What exactly do they do anyway?
I never saw a real one.
Do they even have real ones?

Don't look like they can do much.

What kind of engine powered them if they had real ones?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Smokestack Lightning said:


> Was that..like..a guy in a critter suit..Because they didn't..like have computers in 1986. How did they do the CGI?



I built my first computer in 1982.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Smokestack Lightning said:


> Was that..like..a guy in a critter suit..Because they didn't..like have computers in 1986. How did they do the CGI?


 Surely you've seen Star Wars ... the first one ... debuted in 1977 ... CGI pioneered by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic. No stone age stuff there!

And then there's 2001: A Space Odyssey ... 1968.

TJ


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

big ed said:


> I built my first computer in 1982.


And started Ed's "Everything you never wanted to know about New Jersey" thread in 1983.


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

Smokestack Lightning said:


> Was that..like..a guy in a critter suit..Because they didn't..like have computers in 1986. How did they do the CGI?


Before CGI everything was done with robotics or models... Like TJ said, Star Wars... Watch the originals again and it will be clear as day that these things were used because we are so accustomed to CGI nowadays...


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

yes ed those are real - European industrial locomotive. not many of these were built. make and model of a prototype escape me at the moment, but i should have pictures somewhere

correction - Greg knows better


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

big ed said:


> What exactly do they do anyway?
> I never saw a real one.
> Do they even have real ones?
> 
> ...


They were called shunting tractors. here's a pic of a real one belonging to the Italian State Railways...










"Introduced in 1957, the Breuer shunting tractor was introduced in Italy but built and used in countries as diverse as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Denmark. Used in yards where space was limited but individual vehicles needed to be moved, petrol and diesel versions produced 10 to 80 horsepower and could move loads of 80 to 500 tons depending on the variant at speeds up to 25km/h."


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