Railroad Speeders

[campmaster-k]

I know its not really camping but I was just checking out Rail Speeders . I want one. They are like the teardrop of the train world.

Anyone here do that or know somebody who does? How much do they cost and all that .

[Glenn Butcher]

Here's another hobby to lose yourself in...

I had aspirations of owning one once, but that seemed a bridge too far given my storage/work space. They are mostly restored articles cast off by the railroads as they took on Hy-Rail conversions of autos/trucks. You can still find unrestored relics for under $1000, but they'll almost certainly require a good bit of work to make operable. Folks sell their restored ones for anywhere from $2000-$7000, price mainly depending on the size.

Here are some resources:

http://narcoa.org The national fraternal organization. There's a classified ad page here.
http://lists.cirr.com Here, you'll find a mailing list devoted to the hobby. Lots of activity.

They organize 'runs' on tourist and common-carrier railroads; most are the same sort of friendly folk found here.

[teardrop_focus]

Oh, now wait a minute... those are cool!



From link above: http://narcoa.org/
Maybe some day...

Meanwhile, I have a trailer to finish and a bunch of awesome Coleman to use!

[Shadow Catcher]

There is however one problem, you can't use them, unless you have a private or abandoned rail road or get permission (highly unlikely). I grew up with trains as part of my life. Dad was a big steam fan and I remember going down and seeing the "Daylight" (Pacific coast) steaming in. I have ridden behind more steam engines that many living in the 1800's.

[tac422]

I found these two under a shed, they seem to be mostly complete.

[campmaster-k]

There is however one problem, you can't use them, unless you have a private or abandoned rail road or get permission (highly unlikely). I grew up with trains as part of my life. Dad was a big steam fan and I remember going down and seeing the "Daylight" (Pacific coast) steaming in. I have ridden behind more steam engines that many living in the 1800's.

I bantered about with some Speeder owners on a train forum to see what the deal is on use of track. It seems that if you belong to a recognized club with proper training and insurance many track companies will schedule in a run as if they were any other train. Groups of speeders as many as 25 cars regularly travel the tracks in Northern California where I am from, scheduled in and with permission.

There are speeder groups traveling all over the country with permission, siding and communicating with regular trains.

[campmaster-k]

Here's another hobby to lose yourself in...

I had aspirations of owning one once, but that seemed a bridge too far given my storage/work space. They are mostly restored articles cast off by the railroads as they took on Hy-Rail conversions of autos/trucks. You can still find unrestored relics for under $1000, but they'll almost certainly require a good bit of work to make operable. Folks sell their restored ones for anywhere from $2000-$7000, price mainly depending on the size.

Here are some resources:

http://narcoa.org The national fraternal organization. There's a classified ad page here.
http://lists.cirr.com Here, you'll find a mailing list devoted to the hobby. Lots of activity.

They organize 'runs' on tourist and common-carrier railroads; most are the same sort of friendly folk found here.

Thanks Glenn, and yes its looks like this one could consume ones life.

[rowerwet]

do you have to buy an old one, or can you build your own? there is a rather active group of them around here, I see them heading up the highway with the cars on a trailer almost every weekend all summer long.
If I ever got into a train hobby I would probably go more for something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny_tPJMMjaE a member in my church built all of this, my kids have had many birthday parties there and I've gotten to drive many times. all that wood along the rails he collects for his pastor, It helps heat the house. Last time I was over there to get more wood he used the engine and some flat cars to carry the wood from the pile to my trailer.
the black engine is his first, recently he built a modern Amtrack style train powered with used airplane batteries I got from work. He also built a steam engine, but runs it on compressed air as he doesn't have the boiler yet.

[S. Heisley]

That's a nice layout!

There are clubs for that. Just type Live Steamers into your web search and all the clubs should come up. While the members began by building live steam engines, they also build "diesels" (which are really run by battery or gas). The most popular styles are scaled down (1.6" to the foot) models of the real thing. They have organized track layouts at various places and even have gatherings just like we do.

[rowerwet]

That's a nice layout!

There are clubs for that. Just type Live Steamers into your web search and all the clubs should come up. While the members began by building live steam engines, they also build "diesels" (which are really run by battery or gas). The most popular styles are scaled down (1.6" to the foot) models of the real thing. They have organized track layouts at various places and even have gatherings just like we do.

trains just aren't as fun for me as exploring a new lake or river.
I like to play with them, but I already have a bigger adiction

I've built 7 of these, one I sold, and my sister and I have kids almost ready for their own. Keeps me busy during the winter. I built three of them last spring.

[dguff]

I lost my trains when I built a teardrop. unforatanly I still got a room chawlked full of trains to the ceiling.

slow

Say what??? You lost them and still have them?

Jerome