Do Hi-rail (MOW) trucks, in particular 1/2 - 1 ton pickups have shorter wheel bases to accommodate them for use while riding the rails? if so, what happens to them after their usefulness on the railroad is over? Are they legal with the shorter wheelbase?
They are pretty normal - just a regular pick up with hi-rail wheels installed.
Wheelbase almost never changes, the front and rear track change a bunch so that the steel wheels (ie-rims) can center enough of the tire over the rail for traction and braking.
(It is fun to watch the smaller (midsize) trucks require fender surgery to accommodate the high-rail wheels in the up (highway) position. First time I saw it was in the late '80’s with the first Dakota Jeep and Ranger vehicles. - Fairmont, Mitchell. Dymax Martin and the others all manage it slightly different)
Your turning radius goes to pot because of the tire & wheel changes and if somebody has not modified the suspension to handle the extra weight and height differences you wallow around like a lumber wagon.
Used hi-rails usually are scrap-bait at the end of their careers with engines, brake systems and especially transmissions shot.
Half ton trucks should not ever be converted to high-rails IMHO. The suspensions on those are already maxed out (and then some) when you add the extra weight of the high rail gear.
(Operating supervisors, Trainmasters, RFE’s, Supt’s etc tend to be hell on hi-rail gear (esp shunts, hi-rail wheel tread, swing arms etc and they don’t get that those small guidewheels over 35MPH with almost no flange are a risky proposition.)
Speaking of high-rails, how is the traction in wet weather? It seems to me that traction between wet rubber tires and polished rails must be practically non-existent.
I rode a 1965 Pontiac Hi-Rail Station Wagon. We hit wet leaves. It was a challenge!
Being from Flint, Mi., where they build a ‘few’ pickups, mostly the HD series. I know GM had an option code for HI-Rail pickups, probably still does. It shortened the the rear axle to match the rail gauge. Years ago I believe they told me they were the only mfg that offered it as an option. Other brands were modified by custom converters after assembly.
While a Hi-rail, on track, may handle ‘as if it was on rails’, it doesn’t withstand the G loadings of high speed operation.
They also don’t have much braking power when their bed is loaded with rail supplies and they are towing a trailer of rail in territory with grades.
To what Bob Withorn noted: The Ford Plant to the west if I65 south of Louisville used to host a pretty large ’ conversion’ operation… I know around here there are several who offer ‘conversions’ for work truck applications. I would suspect that each railroad may use either in-house or contractors to do their Hi-Rail conversions. Was looking at a couple of BNSF signal maintainer trucks and they seemed to have commercial style utility bodies, and the vehicles used for other purposes. track inspections,etc. were of the large pick-up (3/4 or 1 ton ‘Super Duty’ models with Hi-Rail conversions). The larger Brandt MOW Hi-Railers are probably,ready, straight from the factory(?). We’ve had track gangs working East of us, and there has been a lot of Hi-Rail traffic back, and forth as well as a large LORAM grinding train working as well.
The largest chunk of BNSF’s fleet comes from Auto-Truck at Bensenville (Chicago). Still see product from Kansas Truck (Wichita) and O J Watson (Denver) around here. Plenty of others out there.
Some Bondo™ and a couple of cans of Duplicolor™ and nobody will ever suspect a thing.
That was a Peterbuilt.
I had a 1980 GMC 3/4 ton pick-up hi rail that I used in NARCOA excursions for a while in the late '90s. The rims were the inside half of Bud duels which narrowed the tire spacing to fit the rails.
“Bud duels”? Who was fighting with Bud? Oh, you mean “duals.”
The “Bud” referred to in this Thread is actually “Budd”, and is a very popular wheel style,on larger trucks. The “Dayton” style wheel, and rim, actualy refer to a system that is a vehicle mounted hub, and a seperate rim to which a rubber tire is mounted.
See a more detailed explanation at this linked site @http://dailydieseldose.com/dayton-or-budd-the-eternal-question/
The Budd-style mounting is favored in Hi- Rail applications due to the way it is mounted on vehicles, and gives a treadwidth that matches closely to the 4’ 81/2" distance of rails.
Wheelbase almost never changes, the front and rear track change a bunch so that the steel wheels (ie-rims) can center enough of the tire over the rail for traction and braking.Your turning radius goes to pot because of the tire & wheel changes and if somebody has not modified the suspension to handle the extra weight and height differences you wallow around like a lumber wagon.
Mudchicken is correct about these items. People often mistake gauge with wheelbase. I’m on my 7th privately owned hyrail now and have dealt with just about every issue that can get bite you. Turning radius for the 3/4 or 1 ton trucks is ridiculous; it takes a block to turn my F350 around. Present rig is a crew cab with a long bed and here’s one place wheelbase is an issue. The distance from the front guide wheel to the rear guide wheel is the vehicle’s rail wheelbase and it can be longer than a 6 wheel passenger or locomotive truck, so if you decide to go jetting off on curvy (and curve worn rail) track slow down as you’re asking for a derailment. Proper alignment, weight adjustment and guide wheel condition make a huge difference but hyrailing and running motorcars are not the same. I’ve been running hyrails since 1981 and motorcars since 1973.
The Minnesota Zephyr had an 83 F350 chassis cab truck for spraying the weeds. Years ago some hoodlums set the cab on fire around 2:45am the week of Stillwater’s LumberJack days. It was totaled for $14,000. I bought it for I believe $400 with plans to replace the cab and use it for my lawn service. The company that swapped the hirail axles to the new truck cut open the frame ahead of the front wheel. I started researching the legal and inspection process for it and deemed it would be a huge pita to go through and eventually parted out the truck. The Zephyr organization couldn’t find the title and had to get a replacement title. The wheels on it were all stock.
When I worked for a Ford dealer in the 80’s, they had an optional wheel for pickups that was for hi-rail. It was inset, so the tire would match the track gauge. It could be ordered by anyone for any truck.
Ozark Mountan Railway usually has used hi-rail trucks for sale, along with cars and engines, etc. They give the condition and mileage.
Balt: …just happened to revisit your post …Posted by BaltACD on Friday, April 21, 2017 7:53 AM I am curious, what in the world do you think that object is lying below the front left wheel in the last picture? Looks to be the same size/shape as the tire. Not being THAT familiar w/high rail stuff is that a weight that was attached to the wheel? Curious and am sure you know the answer. thanks endmrw0509171154
My vote is that it is a manhole cover. I suspect it is a hollow ribbed casting with a peripheral ‘collar’ which gives it the solid disk appearance, but it is probably relatively thin in any section to save overall mass and material cost, like most streethole covers. I think I see the very end of one of the internal ribs just below the ‘collar’ and an offset bracket at the back of the visible portion.