I’m fairly sure that they were made by the trackmobile company (as a brand name.) What ever happened to them? [?] all the ones I’ve seen in pictures seem in slightly unused condition, granted many situations where you need to move a few cars are gone, so the trackmobiles are useless because there is nothing to move (like an industrial plant gone to trucks).
Were trackmobiles problematic, or did the demand for their application just dry up?[8]
What are you talking about Mark? Track mobiles are alive and well!
The demand is still there and alot are still in service. Trackmobiles are still in use in alot of places…even some indutries I serve. They are still made but the thing to remember with any industrial machine is that they are built so rugged and are expensive…so turnover is not really high on them. Also they are tucked away deep inside private industrial propertys…so it woudl be rare a railfan would see one in action most of the time.
One industry I serve bought a small GE instead of a trackmobile to better handle the strings of 286,000 pound cars they get. They would have gone track mobile but Guilford doesnt give them daily service, more weekley so they get a pant load of cars at a time.
The downside is… A locomotive or trackmobile are really good at one thing…movieing train cars. But usally if an industry (usally smaller scale) doesnt need alot of cars moved they usally just use a backhoe or front end loader. They can multi task and as a business owner you need only one machine to repair and purchase fuel for. I know of a Agway we serve that does this.
I have also seen cars moved with an old Dodge Caravan…they broke out windows loaded the rear with old cinder blocks and other heavy junk and use chains to move the grain cars and someone on the handbrakes. The van it doesnt go off property. I guess it works.[xx(]
As I mentioned in another post, Trackmobiles were originally built by the Whiting Corp. of Harvey, IL. They are useful devices for moving cars around in small and not-so-small facilities that receive daily rail service.
Trackmobiles are the 0-4-0’s of today’s railroads. They are everywhere but often unappreciated. Because they are so small - relative to the size of the cars they are moving around, they are often hidden from view - even if they are in accessable areas. And the industrial areas where they are most commonly used are no longer accessable. Start taking pictures of them when you see them. There are 100’s of variations.
Trackmobiles are probably like motorcars, they are all tucked away somewhere like the motorcar in my workshop. If everything goes right, I should be running it at the Moticello Railway museum next month!