Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars remained obscure in comparison with other competitors for the title, such as the "Pioneer Zephyr" and Union Pacific's M-10000. Rubber-tired rail cars achieved greater success in France, and similar rubber-tired subway cars have been adopted in Canada and Mexico as well as on numerous systems in Europe. During the 1920s, the American Budd Company, at the time a relatively obscure auto-frame supplier, developed an extensive working relationship with the French firm Michelin, which was best known for its tires. In 1929, Michelin built its first rail car, and by 1932 nine of its cars were in operating service, all of
Rubber Island Rubber Island Rubber Island (Gummiinsel) is the nickname of an estate in the western part of Giessen (Germany). Due to its location close to the Lahn river, and because it was close to the rubber factory Poppe & Co. The area was then isolated from the rest of the city on the opposite side of the Lahn. Even today, the area can be clearly demarcated by its physical structure of the rest of the western city. The residential area was built 1932-39 as a settlement of small two-storey red brick houses with no basement, each with a small front yard.