RMR Speeder History

History of Private Railcar Ownership in the U.S.

The idea of private railcar ownership was born during the 1950's in the south of the State of Michigan, where the New York Central (NYC) still had a network of lightly used branch lines connecting the small farming and manufacturing towns. A group of Toledo railfans arranged to lease a 6.5 mile branch that bypassed the city of Hillsdale, nicknamed the Bankers Cut-Off, which was not needed by the NYC. The cost of the lease was $100 per year. The group made the line passable, and for 17 years used the line for their ramblings, occasionally riding nearby branch lines too. Then Penn Central, the successor to the NYC, chose not to renew the lease and tore up the track.

Around 1970, a group in New Jersey started riding their railcars on abandoned track and little used branch lines in the Northeast of the U.S. At times, they would clear lines for the railroads in order to use them. After many of these lines were torn up in the late 70's and early 80's, this group decided to formally organize as the North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA), with the hopes of finding a railroad that would let them ride the rails on a regular basis. One of the first railroads to allow this was the Delaware and Ulster Railroad in Arkville, New York. In exchange for such running, NARCOA helped clear the line of trees and trash in preparation for a tourist operation. During this period, private railcar ownership grew rapidly, as American railroads were liquidating large numbers of railcars in favor of Hy-Rail vehicles, selling them for $25-100 to anyone who would haul them away. With few places to ride, some owners began to use them illegally on little used tracks.

In 1985, the Southern Michigan Railroad, a tourist railroad that had purchased an ex-NYC Michigan branch line between Clinton and Lenawee Junction, invited NARCOA members to join them for the first National Motorcar Convention. Twenty-two motorcars, two handcars, a velocipede and 75 people participated in the activities, which included several rides over the 14 mile railroad, a banquet and a night photography session. This convention was a turning point for the hobby. Membership increased and a second group was formed, the Motor Car Collectors of America (MCCA), based in Wever, Iowa. They used a nearby line owned by the Keokuk Junction Railroad for riding. However, the demand to operate motorcars on other railroads was to remain unfulfilled, as only the three railroads mentioned above would permit group rides on a regular basis. The breakthrough came in 1988 when a trip was organized over a 184 mile ex-Milwaukee Road line from Channing to Ontonagon in Michigan's remote western upper peninsula. Over 35 cars filled to capacity with coolers, suitcases and tents attended. There were no accidents or injuries and the two-day ride set a precedent, demonstrating the safety and value of motorcar trips over freight railroads. It also showed that motorcar enthusiasts could provide well maintained cars and conduct themselves responsibly when running on active tracks. After this success, freight railroads in South Dakota, Florida, Minnesota and Canada began allowing motorcar operation on their tracks.

Out in the West, the first organized event was a time trial on the track of the Feather River Railroad Museum, California, in the early 1980's. This brought together a number of motorcar enthusiasts and lead to organized excursions in Oregon, California and Nevada. Eventually, this group became the Motorcar Operators West (MOW) with 170 members. The biggest factors that made NARCOA the leading national organization and brought all the above groups together in the 1990's were safety and insurance. Liability insurance was thought to be a prerequisite to further expansion and the national availability of a $5 million policy led to rides on over 30 other railroads, including Class 1's CSX, Canadian National and Burlington Northern. A rule book acceptable to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was written, approved, and distributed. All rules must be followed and liability insurance is mandatory on every organized ride. The NARCOA bi-monthly magazine, called "The Setoff", contains details of all upcoming rides, each of which may attract anywhere from a handful to 70 motorcars. "Bootleg" running (use of any track without the owner's proper permission) is strictly forbidden to NARCOA members.

U.S Manufacturers of Railcars

There have been a number of manufacturers that supplied velocipedes or rail cars to American Railroads. The first was the Sheffield Motor Company, incorporated in 1878 by George Sheffield, who saw the potential in selling velocipedes with flanged wheels to the railroad companies. He did his experimenting on the Michigan Central Railroad in the West Michigan area at night and without authorization from the railroad. The Kalamazoo Velocipede and Motor Car Company went into production in the early 1880's and lasted until 1968, when it was bought by Tamper Inc. of Columbia, South Carolina and the factory closed down. The Fairmont Gas Engine and Railway Motor Car Co. began in 1911 and by 1949 was offering 19 models of motorcars to customers, most being available in 11 different gauges from 23" to 66". Demand was very strong for half a century, but by the 1970's, sales were plummeting, due to the rapidly shrinking railroad network and a widespread switch to Hy-rail vehicles. The last of a total of nearly 73,000 Fairmont motor cars was manufactured in 1991. Other companies of historical note included Adams, Buda, Casey Jones, Fairbanks-Morse, NorthWestern, and the sole Canadian company, Woodings. The only one of these manufacturers still in business today is Fairmont, who swallowed Tamper Inc. in 1991 to become Fairmont-Tamper. This name is familiar across the world, as they sell a wide range of track maintenance equipment. The majority of railcars privately operated today were built by Fairmont.

Mechanical Overview

The earliest 3 wheel velocipedes and 4 wheel track cars were either powered by hand cranking, a pumping action or pedaling, the motion being transmitted to the wheels by chains and gears. The first cars that used the internal combustion engine for power did so via a direct drive, where the engine was permanently connected to the drive axle. This meant that they had to be pushed to start the engine and could not idle when stationary. Still, that was a distinct improvement over cranking and pumping all day ! The direct drive was eventually replaced by the most common method of power transmission, the drive belt. Earliest belts were made of leather but this material was quickly superseded by heavy duty fabric. According to Fairmont literature, a properly installed and used drive belt should last 40,000 miles. The rugged one-cylinder two-stroke Fairmont engines used from 1911 onwards were reversible, in that you could set the position of spark ignition and then crank the engine in the required direction of travel. The name "putt-putt" for a motorcar derives from the characteristic sound of these unmuffled two-stroke engines. Power to the spark plug was supplied by a vibrating coil enclosed in a wooden box, commonly referred to as a "buzz box". This type of coil was also used in early cars such as the Model T Ford. It was connected to a timer mechanism on the end of the engine shaft, and as the shaft turned, the coil discharged at a set point for a set period once per revolution. Batteries were initially 6V dry cells of limited capacity, which were replaced by 6V and then 12V car type lead-acid batteries.

Starting in the 1950's, Fairmont began offering a more modern two cylinder, four-stroke engine with a clutch and mechanical transmission to get power to the wheels. However, the two-stroke engines and belt drives were still available as an option on new cars until the end. In fact, four of these venerable engines were assembled by Fairmont and shipped to a Turkish railroad in 1994. The maximum speed of most motorcars is between 20 to 40 mph. Brakes are generally small cast iron shoes, one for each wheel. For cars with solid rubber tires on the wheels, flange brakes are used.

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