Somebody talk me out of this - railcar speeder/motorcars!

[moparedtn]

I've taken an interest in those little rail speeders (or motorcars, as the serious purists call them):


It started by running across videos of homemade speeders out west, featuring rigs built from scratch by enthusiasts
and ridden on the hundreds of miles of abandoned old rails that mining companies and such built a long time ago.
Some of those are quite ingenious - but of course, riding unmaintained rails comes with all manner of challenges, too.

That then led to researching the service + inspection motorcars used by the railroad companies up until the time they
started using more conventional pickup trucks and the like, modified with the equipment for rail navigation...
Turns out, there's a national well-organized group that hosts trips in the little things on rails still in use commercially -
and I'm interested in acquiring one of those little rascals and giving it the ol' resto treatment for use by the wife and I!

Appears to be quite the reasonable hobby in comparison to the old car one, too.
Somebody talk me out of this!

 

[khryslerkid]

What happens if you break down miles and miles away from civilization out in the wilderness?

 

[1967coronet]

Think green Ed

 

[kiwigtx]

What happens if you break down miles and miles away from civilization out in the wilderness?

....and there's a train a coming down the line.....

 

[kiwigtx]

Might pay to brush up on your singing repertoire ......

 

[jimbosride]

NARCOA - For Sale & Want Ads

There out there .... but I think you have to be part of a club to get permission.... or find out what tracks to use.

 

[moparedtn]

What happens if you break down miles and miles away from civilization out in the wilderness?

That is certainly a risk if you opt for riding abandoned rails in the middle of nowhere, yep.

Think green Ed
View attachment 1647317

....and there's a train a coming down the line.....

View attachment 1647319

That's one type that is NOT on the table...

NARCOA - For Sale & Want Ads

There out there .... but I think you have to be part of a club to get permission.... or find out what tracks to use.

Correct. That is the group I referred to in my original post. They appear to be quite organized and have been
at it a long time now, so any such endeavor on our part would definitely begin with them, I suppose.

 

[jimbosride]

There's kits and home made units .... but I'm like you .... vintage one would be cool.

 

[Photon440]

....and there's a train a coming down the line.....

View attachment 1647319

In real life when those were used, if a train was coming then the usual crew of six men would lift the speeder off the rails and wait for the train to pass.

 

[kiwigtx]

Somebody talk me out of this!

I have to admit to wanting to at least take a ride in one for as long as I can remember. Our local Vintage Railway has one out on accasions....but the line for a ride is so long.

 

[66/440]

GO for it!

 

[66/440]

In real life when those were used, if a train was coming then the usual crew of six men would lift the speeder off the rails and wait for the train to pass.

Wonder if you could fit F1 type jacks with wheels to assist in moving off/on tracks.

 

[YY1]

Railroad rails are not easy to work over and around.

Even the "hi-rail" trucks that have hydraulic lifts on the rail axles use paved railroad crossings to get on and off the rails.

Contemplating on-board jacks, you'd almost need eight- one inboard and one outboard of each rail, so you wouldn't be forced to use the same side of the rail every time, and also to facilitate not dropping it on the rail still under the vehicle once you get it over the first rail.

I've done a modicum of research a few decades ago...enough to figure out that all the transport and advance planning was gonna be too much for me versus say, working on my old cars on my schedule, and close to home.

Also, as much as I'd likely enjoy the "camaraderie", every ride would likely need to be scheduled with a group of at least close to a dozen others, which would kinda take some of the fun out of it for me.

Most "abandoned" tracks are still railroad property and the RRs generally take trespassing very seriously.

Super cool though.

All that said, in no way am I trying to "talk you out"- I say GO FOR IT.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

Are you wanting to do an LS swap?

 

[moparwacko]

 

[Mopar Hunter]

Here’s one for the whole family.

 

[moparwacko]

GO for it!

Uh, Stourbridge Line?
That's my hometown, I didn't realize until I started watching the video.

 

[moparedtn]

Wonder if you could fit F1 type jacks with wheels to assist in moving off/on tracks.

From what I've researched so far, some models actually have onboard built-in systems to lift and spin them.
Pretty cool.

 

[moparedtn]

Are you wanting to do an LS swap?

Why, I oughta....

 

[WileE]

Lookes like no one's talkin' you outta this, so.... you know what you gotta do....