Railway Track Car 1942 Dodge

[JIPJOBXX]

[JIPJOBXX]

Boy wouldn't this be a fun car to drive down an old railroad track!!!

[Plymouthy Adams]

No so sure Jon...you can't steer the beast...

 

IS the track carriage beneath the car for gauging go/no go conditions of the rail separation?  Quite obvious the wheels are unique to this vehicle..does anyone know by just this photo if it is a Deluxe or Custom model....

[Ricky Luke]

The "track carriage" is probably a turntable. If you were inspecting branch lines, there wasn't (at least in Australia) always a turntable at the end of the line so you needed a way to turn your car around.

 

Cheers

 

Rick

[Plymouthy Adams]

could well be..at first glance of the photo I never gave that thought consideration...thanks for the insight

Edited May 7, 2013 by Plymouthy Adams

[randroid]

Gents,

 

I've seen bicycles designed for riding on abandoned stretches of track.  They have an "outrigger" on the front wheel that keeps them aligned with the track and don't need any input from the rider to keep them there.  I can only assume that the same bit of physics would work for an automobile.

 

-Randy

[knuckleharley]

My first thought was,"Man,ALIVE,but wouldn't I love to have that grille and bumper!"

[Ricky Luke]

Actually on closer inspection it looks like the wheels have thin rubber tyres which sit on the track, The "track carriage" could be a trolley that holds it on the track.

 

Rick

[BigDaddyO]

[greg g]

this may splain what yer looking at. 

 

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/railroad-inspection-cars-and-special.html

[randroid]

Gents,

 

Perhaps the hydraulic jack inside the front bumper controls whatever keeps it on the tracks?

 

-Randy

[TodFitch]

this may splain what yer looking at. 

 

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/railroad-inspection-cars-and-special.html

 

The wheels are definitely different from stock and greg g's link shows things similar. So I think the wheels/tires are flanged in some way and the thing under the car is for turning it around.

 

Gents,

 

Perhaps the hydraulic jack inside the front bumper controls whatever keeps it on the tracks?

 

-Randy

 

I'd guess the hydraulic pump there lifts the car by lowering the platform under the middle of the car and is used when turning it around on the tracks.

[BobT-47P15]

I saw a track inspection vehicle sometime back.......it was maybe a 1950 or 51 Chevy wagon.  What was really strange was - no steering wheel.  Guess it ONLY

ran on the tracks.  You see railroad service trucks nowadays with a set of small railroad type steel wheels which apparently lower onto the tracks once the

truck is driven into position.  Probably propelled by friction of rear tires. 

 

Now here is the real deal..................

 

Link to a blog website with some other neat pictures, including at least one Mopar item.................

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/11/inspection-cars-for-railroad-inspectors.html

 

The Chevy wagon (mentioned above) is at Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Edited May 10, 2013 by BobT-47P15

[Plymouthy Adams]

the picture on the left could well have been the inspiration for the streamlined locomotive...no grill in the wagon..we cannot see the rear either..could this be the result of humping

[greg g]

A few years back a neighboor was going to go to an auction where Conrrail was liquidating equipment.  the had severs pick up and utility bodied trucks on the block.  He said he was all set to bid them but notied that the wheel tracks had been moved in on narrowed axles to locate the tires properly on the rails.  these trucks had had the little bogie wheels o them but that equipment had been removed.  He decided not to get on because he thought the narrowed track would be iffy on the road.  If you look at the pontiac station wagon it does appear there is more clearence between the tire and the fenders that on a sotock vehicle.

[B-Watson]

No so sure Jon...you can't steer the beast...

 

IS the track carriage beneath the car for gauging go/no go conditions of the rail separation?  Quite obvious the wheels are unique to this vehicle..does anyone know by just this photo if it is a Deluxe or Custom model....

 

It's a Custom.  You can tell as it is a LWB 8-passenger sedan which in 1942 was available only as a Custom.

[BobT-47P15]

Did you notice the cars used to make that long, double ended vehicle above are Chryslers???

[austinsailor]

A friend has a model t ford which he's modified to ride the rails. Wheels on one side have spacers to make the t's track width wider to hit the rails. Nothing special to hold the tires on the tracks, just centered. On the front there is a long stick like thing with a u shaped thing on the outboard end that fits over the track, and on the car end it pivots on the frame, then attaches to the tie rod. The length is such that the  curves in the track steer it properly so that it stays on the tracks.  You just drive up on the tracks, align it and drop the long stick and take off.

 

A while back he took a short drive down a seldom used stretch of track near here. Very quickly they tracked him down and explained that it's a federal crime to drive on the tracks, and if they ever saw him do it again, he'd have a new home.

 

Last time I heard it mentioned he and a couple others were negotiating to use some abandoned tracks near here.

[TodFitch]

Last time I heard it mentioned he and a couple others were negotiating to use some abandoned tracks near here.

 

Sounds like he needs to join a club. Maybe http://www.narcoa.org

[Don Coatney]

Sounds like he needs to join a club. Maybe http://www.narcoa.org

I recall watching a film clip about that club a few years back. Bet you would see things not seen on a highway.