My dad used to tell a story about the old days, driving his Ford (model T or A, not sure) on railroad tracks. He said he let most of the air out of the tires, then could drive the car along the RR tracks. Definitively not recommending this idea, Happened in the 1930’s, at a rural location & tim…

A little research exposed that Henry Ford picked the track width to match railroad spacing on purpose so the car could be run on the rails with little modification. Given how few roads the US had in 1909, that was a good idea.

[image] Mustangman: Henry Ford picked the track width to match railroad spacing on purpose so the car could be run on the rails with little modification. [image]

From the photo, you can see the wheel do have flanges. I don’t know how far back they go but RR inspection vehicle have retractable flanged wheels, but are propelled by the regular rubber tires. In past cars were used, now what I see are pickups. [IMG_2815] BTW, my understanding our track width…

I just can’t recall any more but at some point the rail system in the us was standardized. I think Europe had a different width. I seem to recall during Lincoln’s time going through Baltimore before his swearing in, they had to unload from one train to another because the tracks were still differe…

Every once in a while, i see an Amtrak pickup with auxiliary RR wheels.

They are called Hi-rail (or Road-rail) vehicles… Road–rail vehicle A road–rail vehicle or a rail–road vehicle is a dual-mode vehicle which can operate both on rail tracks and roads. They are also known as two-way vehicles (German: Zweiwegefahrzeug), hi-rail (from highway and railway, …

In some third world countries people build small platforms with flanged steel wheels that run on railroad tracks to haul passengers. They strap a small motorcycle to the cart so the rear wheel sets on one of the rails to propel the cart. Very cheap and effective. There are videos on YouTube.

[image] bing: I think Europe had a different width. Europe has different [widths]( What are the consequences of Europe’s different railway gauges? | RailFreight.com ).

[image] Mustangman: [image] MikeInNH: the track is perfectly straight. Difficult on any curves I’d like to know your thoughts about this in more detail. Mike is right, the gauging (spacing) of the tracks is wider on curves to account for the centrifugal force being applied. The outboar…

How much wider gauge? I would think less than two inches, RR wheels, excluding the flange only appear to be 3-4 inches wide, but I never measured them.

I don’t recall exactly, too long ago but I do recall it varied based on the radius of the curve. It was a real b%tch working that out in standard logic and analog controls of the day.

Driving on RR Racks?

General Discussion

davesmopar January 7, 2025, 2:17am 21

They are called Hi-rail (or Road-rail) vehicles…

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Driving on RR Racks?

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