Hello, I’m presently working on a Walthers Trackside Structure kit and I was wondering how the railroad workers got the Speeder from it’s shed to the tracks???
There’s no indication on the box how to connect the “shed track” to the main or side track.
Thank you.
Speeder ‘rail’ can be just wood planks. The speed is pushed up to the main track and over so it sits between the rails. Older speeders had handles for the operator to lift and rotate it so it could be re-railed. Newer speeders have a small ‘turntable’ under them to ‘lift’ the speeder and rotate it.
Jim
As seen on the NYC half a century or so ago:
There was a low (tie top level) wooden platform between the speeder end of the section house (looked like a miniature garage, with double doors meeting in the middle.) Two 6x6 timbers gauged 56.5 inches ran from the `garage’ door to the rails. There was a wooden platform between the rails, approximately 1.5 inches below railhead height and allowing flange clearance. On multiple track, the platforms and timber rails continued across to the farthest track.
The speeder was manhandled from the timbers to the rails. The wooden platforms were there to allow safe footing to the trackworkers doing the manhandling.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Hello Jim, and Chuck, thank you for your infos, they are greatly appreciated, I never would of imagined that the speeder was manually instaled on the tracks.
Have a nice day.
Speeders had two pieces of wood in a channel that you could pull out and lift an end like a wheel barrow.
The procedure was:
Get your line up, when clear of trains, push or pull it out of tool house (shed) so sitting between rails, lift end and turn slightly to get one of rear wheels on the far rail, continue turning to get both rear wheel flanges between rails then set your end down with flanges between rails. Crank the motor over and enjoy your ride. Be sure to look over shoulder once in a while for headlights.
Dick
Hello Dick,
thanks a lot for the detailled infos on the procedures; they are much appreciated.
When I was a kid the C&NW through town had a small speeder shed and it was connected to the main using wood planks gauged to track width, just as others have described above. There was also planking between the rails at that point.
There were also some “escape” platforms along the main which also had the wood planks gauged to track width - and again planking between the rails, almost like a small grade crossing. The one I recall most clearly was at a block signal which makes sense since that is where the MOW crew would probably be the most likely to be doing some work.
But when the depot ceased to be an active station and the speeder shed was torn down, the crews used the former baggage room for the speeder. The railroad removed part of the brick platform and put in asphalt. And instead of wood planks, they installed steel “L” shapes (unless I was seeing the bottom of a steel “T” shape?) – again gauged for the wheels. There was a slight flangeway built into the asphalt and the top of the L was pretty close to even with the surface of the platform. It may have protruded above a little - I seem to recall tripping over it as a youth. I have not seen many modelers replicate that.
Dave Nelson