Further testing of our trolley on the Waihi Goldfields railway shows the need for wider wheels before we take it to abandoned railways around the world.
When my brother and I were visiting my grandparents in Northern Vermont we took the pump cart from the railroad maintenance shed and went for a ride for about 3 miles and that was one of my fondest memories.
need more And louder horns . sure looks like fun. When I was about 16, my buddy and I rode his 59 Chevy car from Sprinkle Texas to Pflugerville Texas on the Katy railway, a freight only line. Makes me wonder how I ever got to 68 years old. Enjoyed the video
Standard wheel width is 5-1/2" with 1" deep flanges. Narrower treads may drop in frogs. Deeper than 1-1/2" flanges may strike the bottoms of frog and other flangeways.
I imagine deeper flanges would hit more dirt and debris between the tracks probably an issue for something so small and light (and often used on abandoned tracks that won't get cleared by trains)
A few technical questions. 1) How much does it weigh when totally assembled? 2) Top speed? 3) Does it have regenerative braking capability? 4) How long does it run on a charge? 5) Can you vary the gauge of the wheels? After 10 years since this was posted, what has happened with the car and you?
Great fun to watch this, thanks. Remarkably and surprisingly quiet running. I wasn't looking for this, but we all know how it is-- one cool link leads to another-- and several hours are shot, but who cares?
Would be an understatement to say that some folks actually use their grey matter and know how to have great fun while doing so. Living life like that won't lead to complaining. This is the stuff that dreams are made of and I wish for everybody to be able to see something akin to this.
those double rails on the bridges are called(at least in my country) JORDAN RAILS. their job is to keep derailed equipment from falling from a bridge or striking the walls of a tunnel ans assisting such derailed equipment to make it across to safety. In the railway world these Jordan Rails are necessary over speeds of 25mph
I traveled that stretch from Te Puke to Hamilton in a Fiat Railcar in the 1970's. In 1998 from Wihi to that station you stopped at had a steam engine shuttling back and forth. This looks like more fun.
That looks so good, you went on forever. I wonder if you could make a solar powered unit and have a wider body for a little more room, The things the average Joe would never think of doing
when the jeep was originally designed they had a wheel base capable of riding railroad tracks. There are some conversion wheels to bolt on somewhere; probably in a museum. Good way to get around traffic with your own private railroad.
I have often thought of building or buying a trolley. Three 1/2 questions: what to know before you buy or build? How to get permission to ride the rails. What to use for protection in case of a roll-over? (aren't roll bars and safety belts obvious?) Other than that, I noticed trash leaving the back of the trolley to the right about the middle of the video; highway on the left with the 75 mph sign ... or maybe the trolley picked up some trash.
What sort of speed were you guys doing? 20mph? Love it...yep, wider wheels, and next - a cargo-carrying capacity? And a quick un-rail - and re-rail - facility?
Awesome! On the handful of occasions I traveleld through the gorge back in the 1970s (round about the time of the opening of the Kaimai tunnel) I don't think I ever saw a train on those tracks, and recall hearing of a flood back then that did some serious mischief to what was left of the infrastructure.
If a train derails but stays upright on the trackbed there is normally just some damage to the track and other minor consequences. If however cars turn over and/or goes off completely the result can be far more serious. On bridges and in tunnels where such consequences could be the most disastrous those rails may help to keep a derailed train from falling over. Not a 100% prevention of serious accidents on bridges, but it has helped to minimize the damage at quite a lot of incidents.
You guys are so fortunate, to have mile after mile of pristine track. I can only dream about my own rail rider aspirations. Around here in Dallas Texas, the railroads don't abandon the tracks, they tear them up. There was the old Cotton Belt railway where they did that. A couple concerns, even if the tracks are abandoned, doesn't the railroad still own them and is liable for accidents? Seems like they wouldn't want anybody on them. If your car breaks down out there in the boonies, you might end up in a serious survival situation. Might be bears in those woods too
They are intended to keep derailed trucks (swiveling wheel-axle sets) on the track to prevent cars falling off the bridge or striking the bridge structure.
@@6___________99_____________64 - They are also used on sharp curves on the in-side rail to prevent derailing. These are bolted very close to the running rail while bridge guardrails are down on the ties and join together at the ends.
If I had the money, I'd build a whole 20-car train of these, and make them run off two V8 engines at each end, with powered bogies inbetween (one bogie generates/brakes, the other powers the cart) and use it for a disused rail line.
the first cart had better wheels that straddled the rails. the second carts wheels were too small they almost came of at every curve. looks like fun though.
If the train comes off the track while crossing the bridge, the inner rails reduce the chance that the trains fallis over the side - one pair of wheels will fall between the running rail and the inner rail and keep the wagons on the path of the track. You particularly don;t want the train to go left or right if it derails on a bridge,
Those are called Guard rails and the following description from Wikipedia tells what there for. ( ''guard rails are placed parallel to regular running rail along areas of restrictive clearance, such as a bridge, trestle, or tunnel. These have the effect of keeping the wheels of rolling stock in alignment in case of derailment. It also helps to minimize damage to the structure and allow easier post-accident cleanup.'' )
Damn man, this is the coolest thing ever. Out of curiosity, if you were to do a man made trolley, would you have to do it on a track that is not commonly used by other trains?
No, it's perfectly fine to use your homemade trolley on a busy suburban railway. Where I live a train passes every three minutes. That should make it fun....
Desde criança sonhei em viajar assim , próximo de casa tinha uma linha férrea tem até hoje , na época criei um com rolimã tocado a mão mesmo todos ficaram surpresos com a engenharia mas funcionava perfeitamente era pobre não tinha recurso nenhum fiz com que achei .
see that red jigger I used to build them at aramoho railway workshop so you want larger wider wheels so I'm basically saying those wheels are too small cheers
It's to help prevent a train from going over the edge in case of derailment while on the bridge. When the inner wheel derails, it's caught by that inner rail and HOPEFULLY stopped from going over any further.
Podrían contarnos cuales son las características técnicas de la tracción y motorización utilizadas aqui? Gracias desde la Argentina. Y por último que autonomía tiene?
How fun! You should have known to make the wheels wider. How wonderfully quiet with those wheels! Any problems with level crossings? I would have brushes in front of the wheels to brush any objects and gravel off the rails. Had a smile on my face your whole video! Please do more. Thank you.
Geoff Dearth that might be dangerous, it can cause the Flanges to run on the tracks, and this making it derail. They should just get wider wheel, I go with at least 7-8cm wheel Base to be safe
Only reason they can do that is because there is only a couple of trains a day, that run for the Goldfields Railway, other than that, no traffic at all because that line is completely disconnected from the mainline
You need wider wheels on that. Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch wider. There are some parts in the "wheel shots" where the edge of the wheel gets closer to falling off the rail.
