Speeders aka railcars

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Modelers might think railcars would encompass more than speeders. On an unsuccessful google search, I discovered people own speeders and take them on tours. Too cool [8D][8D]

They haul them around on trailers and go on excursions. (abandoned lines I guess) I haven’t quite figured out how they get them from trailer to rail. I guess with enough help it can be done. Somewhere between $3,500 and $6,000 will get you your own railcar and trailer. http://www.narcoa.org/

Time is running short for my dream of winning Powerball and owning a business car. Most of us could buy a speeder.

2

Hi, Henry,

You’re bringing back some fond memories for me here…

I used to own a car along with another friend to share the cost (and the WORK!)

The trailers would usually tilt back and a winch would let the cars roll on to a flat crossing area or right on to the rails.

Some cars had a screw jack in the center of them that you could pivot the car to turn it when necessary.

Not all trips were on abandoned rails. Many short lines would devote a day or two to a speeder run. We had a Fairmont MT14. That machine could easily get up to fifty MPH! We never found out how fast the top-end was! Some folks would have Hi-Railers, too.

Here’s a video of our car on part of a run that included milage in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. One time we went on the Wheeling & Lake Erie in the Pittsburgh area and rolled along behind the steel mills. That was some fun trackage!

Here’s Edison waiting for the next run…

For a real speeder treat go to the National Film Board of Canada and watch Buster Keaton in his last silent film, The Railrodder:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/railrodder/

You can watch in full-screen high resolution if you like. Several other great railroad films are here at NFB as well! If you are a Buster Keaton fan there is also a documentary titled Buster Keaton Rides Again which has behind the scenes shots and other Keaton performances.

Enjoy,

Ed

3

Like Ed, I’m a railcar owner. I own a former Frisco MT14. My son had created a website for our long ago (July 2008) excursions over Colorado’s La Veta Pass and on the Creede Branch. The website has links to numerous YouTube videos.

www.friscotwentygrand.com

The speeder is kept in our garage and loading on the trailer (kept at a storage lot) is an adventure unto itself due to the driveway’s steep slope. That and the need for an engine overhaul has limited its use in recent years.

Ray

4

I think its absolutely fascinating and a hobby I never would have imagined. What does one weigh? Wiki says 3,500. Seems like a lot to turn without a jack post.

5

A friend of mine owns a Canadian made Woodings speeder, has a complete fibreglass body. Been on several excursions with him in the past. Don’t know what it weighs, but is certainly a whole lot less than 3500 lbs., probably under 1000. Most speeders have two long handles that extend out the ends of the car, using these one person can turn the car or mount it on the rails. Fun to ride with the doors wide open, but is kind of rough riding on older track, doesn’t have a suspension.

6

I have an old trailer that looks nearly identical to the one owned by the cat in the photo above. [(-D] It is only rated at 1,000 lbs. No way that speeder weighs anywhere near 3,500 lbs.

Edit:

Just watched the Buster Keaton short Ed linked above. It’s a real treat. Thanks, Ed.

CG

7

I have an ex-Algoma Central M19 that I ran on NARCOA excursions from 1990 to 2000. In May of 2000 I bought 42 acres of land for deer hunting and began spending most of my spare time working in the woods.

An M19 weighs about 900 pounds. It has lift bars that are pulled out from the back. The car is then lifted from the rear and moved like a large wheel barrow. They are designed to be moved that way. The engine sits over the front axel which makes for a very forward balancing point when lifted from the rear. The cars are put on and taken off the tracks at road crossings. I am 5’ 7", weigh 150 pounds, and I can load, unload and turn my car around by myself at a crossing.

8

Hmm, now that I have a truck that could pull a trailer with one. And a big enough garage to put it inside and still get the cars in…

no no NO, I do not need another hobby… I’ve wanted a speeder for ages. Simple enough that I could probbaly fix nearly anything on it. Not ridiculously expensive - and I’d get to run on railroad tracks.

–Randy

9

Speeders are not so much fun in winter @ 20 Below with snow getting deeper by the minute and a long way to the next take off, before radios, and one had to wade thru drifts to hang up a phone, first, knocking the snow hat off the crossarms.

The four-man Section Motorcar weighed ‘tons’ with jacks, lining bars, spike mauls, bolts, joint bars and so on.

( BTW. In winter Snow Wheels were put on rears which were usual wheels with a strip of 1/2 x 1/2 bar steel wrapped and tacked-welded around the tread running on the rail for more concentrated cutting force on poor rail. )

Anyway, they ARE fun in summer, esp the 2 man Roadmaster version, OR the 4 Cyl Gang Car designed to pull trailers for gang workers.

( One Roadmaster had fitted a rear view mirror in the cab of his Patrol Motorcar so he could see an overtaking train’s headlight if it ever came to that, but, in reality, it was to see Just WHO gave him The Finger after he passed in a cloud of 2 cycle Blue. )

Some will do 50 mph without the cab and windshield ( Easier to Jump, if one had to, they said ) but, cost a factor?

We hit two, 2, with an H-Line, not in the same day, and one went on fire under the pilot. No Injuries, as the poor guy, who was IN THE RIGHT!!!, jumped onto the only piece of grass between Golden and Colvalli. The Engineer was really quiet for a few days, after. The operative words being: “for a few days”… I was NOT privy to the ‘Flagging Arrangement’ they made over the Magneto Track Fone System.

On jointed 39s or 78s it could be rough, the cadence according to the speed. Sudden wheel slip indicated greasy rail, or rain. Trying to stop near a ‘Greaser’ could be tense, esp if there were 3 or 4 39s on the pushcar behind.

( A locomotive hitting a full spike keg with the top removed @ 40 MPH produced a wonderful display of shrapnel and dashing workers.)

One day I was running, as the

10

Loved the stories but what exact does this mean?

Ropes soaked in diesel sounds like there is going to be heat applied.

11

Often, due to very cold weather, but, at any time, just thru metal fault, the rail would ‘pull apart’ due to contraction of steel due to cold, leaving a gap from top down thru web and across base on tie end. This could be ‘heard’ by a wheel, locomotive, or Fairmont crossing same.

To close gap, the rails would have to be heated.

To do this, the snow would have to be shovelled away from rails each way, Holes drilled in new ‘ends’ on each side of break, the Diesel-soaked ropes laid on top of spikes up close to rail each way, and ignited.

Once rails had expanded due to heat, joint bars applied and bolts inserted as per regular joint.

If in hurry, maybe not all bolts would be drilled for, as, often, they’d have to come back another day and cut, drill and install another stock rail.

Neet to watch at night if ASAP Fix.

Ditto a Speno Rail Grinding Train.

Thank You.