Don had emailed from Molokai regarding a Motorcar trip his club from California was doing in July. He mentioned that he would be on Vancouver Island and then come to the lower mainland and from there off to Nelsen B.C. We insisted that he come by and show us his Motorcar, and have a visit.1. What is that “thing” on your trailer?
That is a Railroad Motorcar, sometimes called a “Speeder”. Smaller models, like this one, were used routinely to inspect the many miles of track for defects. Larger versions would carry half a dozen workers and pull a few trailers loaded with spikes and tools, to handle track maintenance.
Use of motorcars has been phased out over the past couple decades in favor of Hy-Rail vehicles, which are standar
d road vehicles with retractable guide wheels that can operate on road or rail. Although these “speeders” have a top speed of only about 30 m.p.h., they were so nicknamed because compared to the manually powered pump cars they replaced, they were much faster.2. What do you do with it?
Motorcar owners belong to several clubs which obtain permission from railroads to operate on their tracks. These clubs are under the organizational umbrella of the North American Rail Car Operators Association (NARCOA).
With permission of the railroads, members operate their motorcars on excursions ranging from one day to over a week in almost all parts of the U.S. and Canada.
Many of these excursions are in remote and very scenic areas that are impossible to see from the highway and thus provide an experience not available by other means of transportation.
3. How do you get permission to use your motorcar on a railroad track?
We rent the tracks for our outings from the many small railroad companies which have taken over former branch lines of the major carriers (as well as some large railroads in the U.S. and Canada). Often smaller railroads operate trains only on weekdays, so a gr
oup of motorcars on a Saturday or Sunday does not cause the coordination problems the larger lines would have.We have developed an excellent reputation within the rail industry for our attention to safety through operator training, self imposed safety rules and mechanical standards for our motorcars. We know that our operation must be viewed as a positive experience for the railroad to invite us back year after year.
