Galloping Geese were used extensively here in Colorado on the Rio Grande Southern line, probably in the 1920's and 1930's. They were indeed truck chassis fitted with railroad wheels, and were apparantly quite well suited for some of the narrow gauge, high twisted mountain lines existing at that time. I don't think they hauled more than one or two cars, but were able to transport mail, passengers and provisions to a lot of mining camps in the high Rockies. There is a whole chapter about the Galloping Goose in a great book called "Silver San Juan", which chronicles the early mining and railroad history of the San Juan Mountains, in the southwest Colorado Rockies. I don't know if it is still in print, but it was a massive book with lots and lots of cool photos. It sold for 50 dollars back in the late 1970's, when I first saw it in the gift shop at Denver's Union Depot. I was working in the depot, ("switching out", or moving passsenger cars from one track to another), at the time.

I know this is thread creep, not quite the original question. Sorry. But regarding nicknames, I am known on the Mudcat as "Blueay", because that is the nickname I wound up with for seventeen years of working on the Burlington Northern, aka Big Nothing. BN was largely made up of the former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy,(Cock Bite Queer), and the Great Northern, (Jennie), railroads.

For some reason, The Denver and Rio Grande Western, now part of the Southern Pacific, never acquired a nickname that I heard, other than a shortening to "The Grand", maybe because it was such a Colorado institution. Likewise, the Colorado and Southern never really got a nickname that stuck, but it's employees did: Mud Ducks. A major flood wiped out their railroad yard in about 1965, (along with major portions of Denver), and these railroaders had to slog through the mud to for the next few months in order to keep their trains running. They eventually wore the Mud Duck label with pride, had t-shirts and hats and the whole bit. It's all been changed by mergers now, but I am sure the Mud Ducks are still there.
Forgive my rambling and getting off topic, but this thread touched a nerve. I no longer work for the railroad, but I am quite proud of my railroad history, and fond of my memories. ("Engine 6218, where are you"? "We're all f***ed up over here". "What track are you on"? pause... "We're not THAT f***ed up"!

Thanks, BlueJay