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

[zyzzyx]

Hey, a hobby is a hobby! Some people collect stamps, some people collect GTX's, some people, . . . .
Well, you get the idea!

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

There is a guy near Durand Wi. that has a collection of those. I have seen them as I drive by.

 

[72redbird]

If they come with a way of getting on and off the tracks, would be pretty cool. I'm sure they're pretty heavy

 

[dadsbee]

There is a group that comes through our Northern Camps village every year (which is a good 7.5 hours driving a car from the border), that go all the way to up to Cochrane or possibly right up to Moose Factory on James Bay then back home. They are for the most part from the USA...

 

[Builderguy]

I would say, "GO FOR IT !!!" On the plus side, restoration of one of these should be a whole lot cheaper than a B-Body. Little money, big fun.

 

[khryslerkid]

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

These do! In Cambodia it's a means of transportation. These would be a low budget build for the beginner!

 

[dadsbee]

Are those Green bearings KK... LOL

 

[Runcharger]

They were built in different size from a small one for a single patrolman to operate up to larger ones that would transport a small crew. We had a club rent time on our railway once and they probably had 30 or 40 speeders. It cost lots as they had to pay for a "pilot" who was one of our guys with his rules written up and legal to control the movement and keep them out of danger. It looked like a lot of fun and some of these "foamers" hauled their speeders all the way from the eastern states to take part.
Think how much it would cost you to rent a highway with all the car and truck traffic removed so you can race 200 miles.

 

[moparedtn]

If they come with a way of getting on and off the tracks, would be pretty cool. I'm sure they're pretty heavy

From what I've seen, the factory-built ones were outfitted with "handlebars" that extend out so a couple guys (or one
strong one) can pick them up and tote them. Also from my observations, most owners have a trailer rigged with rails
and a means of ramping them off and on to whatever roadway they're pulled up to.
Obviously, they unload them at RR crossings and such - and they do roll on hard surfaces.

I would say, "GO FOR IT !!!" On the plus side, restoration of one of these should be a whole lot cheaper than a B-Body. Little money, big fun.

Also from what little research I've done, it's a bunch cheaper to restore one and "done" nice ones typically are less
than $10k. All depends on what model, of course....some of them are less than $5k.

These do! In Cambodia it's a means of transportation. These would be a low budget build for the beginner!

I've already ruled out building one from scratch; a factory-built one appeals more and would be like restoring an original
anything else, with all the parts hunting and refinishing and such.

 

[moparedtn]

They were built in different size from a small one for a single patrolman to operate up to larger ones that would transport a small crew. We had a club rent time on our railway once and they probably had 30 or 40 speeders. It cost lots as they had to pay for a "pilot" who was one of our guys with his rules written up and legal to control the movement and keep them out of danger. It looked like a lot of fun and some of these "foamers" hauled their speeders all the way from the eastern states to take part.
Think how much it would cost you to rent a highway with all the car and truck traffic removed so you can race 200 miles.

Yes, officially organized excursions come with a price for participation - typically $200 or so.
They also look like they limit numbers of entries - and since they are on still-active rail lines,
the event organizers plan with RR representatives, many of whom love attending the events.

The other type of event is when they use no longer active rail lines that historic companies have
acquired for tourist business use of their antique passenger trains - so the event organizers instead
make arrangements with that tourist business in the same manner.

The kicker is not only does your entry fee cover your share of payment to the rail line owners, but it
also includes event insurance and sometimes even special event attendance at stuff along the way -
including meals and such.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

Back when there were several abandon tracks around one of my friends got so spend the day w family traveling down the old train track on a cart with a hit n miss engine to run it. Very memorable experience for him. If you have a place to go with one it would be a hoot. The cart was finally sold at a auction this last summer. It would go about 30mph. It had been years since it was run..sold for $800 on the auction.

 

[moparedtn]

Back when there were several abandon tracks around one of my friends got so spend the day w family traveling down the old train track on a cart with a hit n miss engine to run it. Very memorable experience for him. If you have a place to go with one it would be a hoot. The cart was finally sold at a auction this last summer. It would go about 30mph. It had been years since it was run..sold for $800 on the auction.

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Yep, Fairmont seems to be one of the prominent manufacturers of all sorts of types of these things.
I'd probably wimp out and go after an enclosed unit with a bit of elbow room, though.
I've seen in videos a couple different ones that actually are customized to look like little locomotives!

They can get pretty fancy:

 

[Richard Cranium]

This'll give you an idea of what you'll spend on one. It seems as though that most owners are old duffers & like our hobby, they'll age out and put it up for sale.

NARCOA - For Sale & Want Ads

www.narcoa.org

PRO - For Sale and Want Ads

For Sale & Want Ads

www.pro-online.org

 

[1STMP]

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

Lions, tigers, and bears.
Oh my! /s

 

[The Rebel]

My buddy is a RR buff and we went on a ride with a group of his friends. Was really a cool time. We were on an abandoned line so no need to worry about any trains coming.

 

[hdwrench]

it sounds like fun ! if there is a place to run one nearby i think it be a hoot . got to be some beautiful places to see !!!

 

[khryslerkid]

Lions, tigers, and bears.
Oh my! /s

And dem pesky rattlers!

 

[Curiousyellow71]

The old wood trestle bridges are very inspirational and completely safe.

 

[66/440]

There are thousands of miles of abandon rail in America, some of the older narrow gauge stuff still exist here in Texas as I am sure there is elsewhere. It would be cool to be able to operate on both standard and narrow gauges. Need to join a few of the railroad groups to get good information on locations and accessibility. What a cool way to see some forgotten parts of the country!

 

[The Rebel]

There are thousands of miles of abandon rail in America, some of the older narrow gauge stuff still exist here in Texas as I am sure there is elsewhere. It would be cool to be able to operate on both standard and narrow gauges. Need to join a few of the railroad groups to get good information on locations and accessibility. What a cool way to see some forgotten parts of the country!

Absolutely! My buddy and l have been friends since 7th Grade, some 43 years ago, lol.

We got started hiking abandoned RR lines way before Rails to Trails was a thing, probably in 87-88. Back then it was old rusted rails, rotting ties and overgrown with weeds and shrubs in some spots.

Some bridges we hiked we had to go on all 4's to cross as the drop was a bit far.

We were able to find from time to time old insulators that hadn't been shot to pieces and brought them home.

Those are some great times we had, like the movie Stand by me.