Rail Rover Series II 88
Rover's 'Rail Rover' trial: a Series II 88 hard top fitted with flanged railway wheels in place of its road wheels for track inspection and light shunting — one of several rail conversions tried over the years, dropped after trials showed shunting impractical and the rubber-composite tyres developed flats.
History
Among the special projects Rover tried with the Land Rover was the rail conversion, attempted on a number of occasions. One of the first 'Rail Rovers' simply replaced the road wheels with flanged railway wheels and was intended for inspection and light shunting work. Trials showed shunting was impractical because of the size of the rolling stock compared with the Land Rover, and the flanged wheels' rubber composite tyres tended to develop flats, giving an uncomfortable ride, so the project was dropped. Later road-rail conversions, such as the British Rail Defender with retractable guide wheels, took a different approach. The archive photograph shows the Rail Rover, a Series II 88 hard top, on track at a demonstration before a crowd; its registration and date are not legible.
The registry's model is the Series II 88 hard top in grey with its wheels rendered as steel flanged railway wheels, hub caps, and a buffer beam with buffers and a coupling on the front, as the queue's note and photograph describe.
Imagery
Registry record
- Manufacturer
- Rover Company (Series II 88 hard top with flanged rail wheels)
- Manufactured
- Series II era trial (late 1950s to early 1960s; date not stated in the source)
- Modifier / coachbuilder
- Rover Company (rail conversion trial)
- Engine type
- Rover 2.25 L four-cylinder petrol
- Production run
- Unknown — a trial vehicle; rail conversions were tried on a number of occasions
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Operated in
- United Kingdom
- Status
- unknown
Catalogue data
- Record kind
- Named model
- Model line
- Series II
- Wheels
- 4
- Nominal wheelbase
- 88″
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Sources & citations
Researched sources
- Land Rover special projects — the Rail Rover (winwaed.com Land Rover history) ↗ — winwaed.com (accessed 2026-09-11)
Catalogue references
- https://www.winwaed.com/landy/history/special_projects.php https://www.winwaed.com/landy/history/special_projects.php ↗
Registry record updated 2026-09-11T10:52:33.382Z · status: researched