And Now For Something Completely Different - Vintage Railway Inspection Cars

Cool stuff
and a great part of history

 

51 Roadmaster......great thread !! Seems this internal combustion disease that we are afflicted with takes many forms. Two years ago when my brother and I moved some of our "stuff" out of a rented barn, the stablemates in the barn were.....a 1933 Chev 3 window coupe body.....a 1947 Case VAI tractor.....a rail frame dirt track midget project......a 1947 CJ2A Willys......and two Fairmont motorcars as well as misc. narrow gauge railroad collectibles !
Dean.....glad to see you have done some touring in the motorcars. There are some lines in E. Iowa where some of my brothers friends go on some scenic tours......great stuff

 

The Spencer shop is an amazing place. I have been to it several times on special occasions and take my grandkids. It was the largest service center for steam locomotives from Washington to Atlanta until diesel power took over. It is a huge place with a working turntable. They offer rides on steam and diesel powered trains. A great place for kids of ALL ages.

 

From the railway museum in Madrid.

 

There are a lot of survivalist who have converted SUVs into multi-purpose rail cars. I don't take them lightly.

 

I remember seeing a pic of Merle Haggard in a 1954 or so Mercury that had been converted to run on rails. IIRC,
he got in trouble for doing so.

 

this one here seems awfully practical.

 

Those wheels look like they are rubberized...interesting

 

I had an uncle that said years ago when he was young (50s?)that he or someone he knew would get on the tracks with their vehicle, lower the tire pressure and drive letting the rims more or less ride the rails just for the fun of it
Dont know if it was just an old drinkin tale or a story he had heard or what but always wandered how well that would actually work.

 

I had some friends who grew up in Northern Michigan who told the same tale. Knowin' them, it WAS an old drinkin' story.

 

City of Winnipeg Rail Car

 

I'll see Dean's Goose 5, and point the spotlight towards another rail truck model again. I've been fascinated with these gizmos since the first time I discovered the RGS and their flock of crazy looking Geese. Gary

 

Loving this thread.Every time I open it there are more really swell photos being posted.Just gets better all the time.Thanks to all who have taken the time and effort to find and post the photos.
Good luck.have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I can answer this, but I have to step outside the parameters of the HAMB for a moment.

Like all good railway stories, I am required by the unwritten code of the Brotherhood to change or omit names and places to protect the quasi-innocent, but lets just say a Volkswagen Beetle is gauged perfectly to ride the rails once you take a little air out of the tires.

Now let me begin by saying this happened a long time ago and everyone involved has gone on to the big roundhouse in the sky, and it's NEVER OK to go joyriding on railway tracks.

I worked with an engineer who pulled this stunt on a regular basis back in his younger days in the '70s. This particular subdivision only saw one train every other day, and he was it's assigned engineer. The train would depart "X" with a load of empty tanks, head 70 odd miles North off the mainline to refinery "Y", spot the tanks at the rack, stay overnight and wait until morning to bring them back to 'X'. Refinery "Y" was located at a remote one horse town with precious little excitement. This was no good for Mr. Engineer. He discovered if he took a little air out of the tires of his '67 Beetle, it would hug the rails and take him straight back to his favorite watering hole just outside of "X". Because his assigned train was the only one to use the line, he had nothing to worry about. No on coming trains, no cops, no traffic and best of all, no steering. To keep things covert, he used to run without any lights. He used this trick for a few years until one early morning he was zipping along, in the middle of nowhere, eyes half closed feeling no pain, when all off a sudden -WHUMP-BANG! Instantly awake, he caught a fleeting glimpse over his shoulder of a ball of arms and legs rolling into the ditch along the right of way. Getting out of the car, he saw two locals moaning in the ditch, sauced up and equally loose, shaken but not hurt. Panic flashed through the now stone-cold sober Mr. Engineer. Before he could speak, the couple stumbled up to him and pleaded - "Don't call the cops, we're sorry! We'll never walk on the tracks again!". Thinking quickly he looked at them sternly and said " I won't call the cops this time, but don't ever let me catch you on railway property again! Now get out of here and don't ever tell anyone about this!" Bullet dodged and lesson learned with nobody hurt, that was his last unscheduled trip.

Not too long afterward, Mr. Engineer lost his Beetle when he was challenged to prove that Volkswagens really were watertight. Seeing how a 40 ouncer was on the line, he drove it straight into the lake and son of a gun, it floated. He may have won his booze if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't steer in the water and he thought an open door would make a good rudder.....

'51 Roadmaster

 

It helps deaden the 'clickety-clack' sound of jointed rail for the crew in the cab.

'51 Roadmaster

 

The last words he was heard to say were "here, hold my beer".

 

Here is the '58 Pontiac wagon I had the opportunity to drive -

 

Love to see one with a 392 hemi on gas, 671 blower and some 4:90 gears. Bet it would get those iron wheels glowing red in no time.