How and what was a Speeder used for?


Hawkesburytrain

Hawkesburytrain

Well-Known Member
Being completely illiterate when it comes to train, what was a Speeder used for?
When it come out of the shack and arrives at the main tracks which is perpendicular, how does it get on?

Could it be used to move cars on industry spurs? (if that's the term)
For example, if a hopper is being emptied, how does the second one gets moved to be emptied, third, fourth etc?


Thanks
 
Speeders were primarily used for track inspection or transporting crews. Foremans speeders usually had only one seat.
They sometimes have drop down turntables to spin them on the track but also have reverse or can be reversed by running the motor backwards.
The motors are on the front end so to get on or off the tracks there are handles that slide out the lighter back end much like a wheelbarrow and can be spun around on a road or set off.
They can tow small trailers or other speeders but have neither the power or mass to move a railcar.
 
Here's a pic from a run last year. You can see the handles sticking out on the lead car.
image.jpeg
 
Rico said:
The motors are on the front end so to get on or off the tracks there are handles that slide out the lighter back end much like a wheelbarrow and can be spun around on a road or set off.
.
Click to expand...

I wondered this and one day saw the crew maneuver the speeder to get it on the track. I saw them pull the handles out and rotate it by hand. That was about 45 years ago but I still remember, that is why they have the boards above (covering) the ties where they have the perpindicular little parking platform.
 
Regarding railroad speeders (aka motorcars or handcars), I lived 2.5 blocks from the speeder shed (and two dead-end side tracks) on the Missouri Pacific RR main line in Arcadia MO as a kid and teenager down in the Missouri Ozarks. Many times I've seen the track crew take the speeder out of the shed (and I "helped" them some when when I was there), put it on the rails, and return it to the shed. The one thing that helped them a lot (NOT skinny teenager me at that time) was that they secured crossties across the width of the rails (of course leaving flange passageways). The ties were about the same height as the rails (about 6" to 7" high), AND they had crosstie "rails" running at right angles from the closest rail into the speeder shed.

And I fully agree with RBMNfan - Not a job for wimps.
 
When I was riding with my relatives on the Milwaukee Road while growing up, I saw crews putting speeders on the rails. Apparently not only a bit of muscle is needed, but also a few colorful words.
 
It's also a fun and expensive hobby. There are speeder clubs in some cities. I looked a buying one a couple of year ago, but no club nearby.
 
Nowadays the railroads mainly use hi/rail pickup trucks with little railway wheels for these functions (the road/rail capability is far more flexible) and have gotten rid of most of the old speeders, although there are still some out there.

truck.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have a neighbor near my cabin who has several Speeders that he restored. They are kept in an addition to his garage and a tracks inside the garage lead through an overhead door to trackage in his back yard.

His wife said he stopped laying track due to the cost of rail skyrocketing, but still he has an impressive amount of track laid and operating.

Haven't meet the guy as of yet, but would like to see and operate a Speeder.

Thanks.

Greg
 
SRC still runs a speeder pulled work train. Of course only 4-1/2 miles of track is not alot to maintain by modern standards. The Ma & Pa segment that is preserved has a speeder/ motor car type train that runs over it.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 
I lived by MKT tracks in my teens and saw speeders quite a bit, though theirs were more like the old hand-driven bare platforms than the fancy enclosed ones I saw earlier in this thread. Basically a platform big enough for two people to sit on a bench seat and a single-cylinder four-stroke engine that had a very distinctive sound. Without all the coverings and fairings and such, they were apparently not too difficult to maneuver on and off the tracks if the conversation my curious dad had with a crew was any indication, and it was all basically done with muscle power. Not much more difficult than having to move a large lawnmower sideways. So MKT may have left their guys out in the rain, but on sunny days they apparently had a much easier job of managing that thing.
 
Woe will be the day when these replace them


'cause there'll be no tracks for them to run on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top