I used to see them going up and down our mainline when I was a kid. I always got a kick out of them--I also remember a fellow who would give me a ride
on one whenever he had work to do on the line---mind--this was in the 60's.

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Neeb?

Speeder season is coming up and I've been busy getting my car up to code for NARCOA runs-there are a bunch of hardware requirements, in addition to insurance, that need to be met. A quick update.

Windows-check.
Headlamp-check.
Horn-check.


A look at the electrical system.
First aid kit-check.


Tail/brake light-check.


Parking brake-check.


Trailer ramps-check.


Trailer winch-check.


Its coming along nice!


Thanks to my father for the beautiful wiring job!

Test run tomorrow on the Lycoming Valley/Jersey Shore Steel RR!

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

A closer look for those of you who like these sorts of things....

Two-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally-opposed, 4-stroke engine (very appropriate for a Lycoming engineer). It has the number '1926' stamped on the block up near the crankcase vent. Not sure if it is a serial number or a date or a part number (I'd like to think it's a date)

Check out the exposed valvetrain, the tiny updraft carb and the magneto ignition. Those are big displacement cylinders-not sure exactly how big but the cylinders on this engine blow away the jugs on our Lycoming engines which are on the order of +5" bore and +4" stroke. Its a pretty low compression engine and it has to be. It's started with the hand crank on the front.


And the legendary "friction-drive" transmission.

This system allows for variable drive ratios in both the forward and reverse directions and clutch action too. The flywheel on the right is attached directly to the engine crankshaft. The spoked wheel can be slid back and forth along the square shaft. The square shaft is connected to the rear axle via a chain/sprocket set.

The operator slides the spoked wheel to one side or the other of the flywheel nut and this determines the direction-the engine always spins the flywheel the same way (counter-clockwise from this viewpoint). With the spoked wheel in the position in the picture, the car will move forward. If it is slid towards our viewpoint, past the flywheel nut, the car will move backwards. For clutch action, the lever, visible behind the spoked wheel, is moved rearward by the operator, which pushes the square shaft towards the flywheel. Friction between the spoked wheel and the flywheel then causes the power from the engine flywheel to move through the spoked wheel, the square shaft and the sprocket/chain set, to the rear axle.

Consider yourselves educated.

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

john, first off that parking brake rocks!!! i like that! now, that engine is sweet. that engine just may be that old. its amazing how much it resembles an aircraft engine. those rockers are nearly identical! i believe a trip to johns is going to be in order rfd!

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Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!

looks good John, have you had it on track at white deer yet?
I am working 2 angles to access that area behind the furnace.
Clark

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What do you mean by "overloaded" officer?

Hi Clark, no, i haven't had it over to White Deer yet. had it out today over at the steel mill over in Avis, though... there's more track there and its 3 minutes from my house!

definitely let me know if and when you get permission to have a look around behind the furnace!

so, back on topic, speeder test run went pretty well this afternoon. we identified a few small issues, primarily with loading the car on the trailer. turns out i'll need guides on the bed of the trailer to keep it from running into the side rails. there's obviously no steering wheel and the front end is almost as heavy as a tank, so its not easy to re-position if it isn't lined up perfectly straight on the trailer.

working on it tomorrow.

so, anyone interested in going for a ride?

i'm looking for passengers for some of the upcoming NARCOA runs in Central PA. i'm only one person and i'm looking for a person or persons that can help me out with some of the operational issues that i need more than one person to do.

there are rides coming up on the 18th (next Saturday) near Altoona, PA (60 miles round trip!) and on the 19th (next Sunday) in Bellefonte, PA (70 miles round trip!!!).

i have insurance, etc and there is space available for my car on the runs, so we should be good to go!

let me know if anyone is interested!

John

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

I might be interested... ill see what im doin

John

Really nice job whith the car. I hope you have better luck with Narcoa than we did but we were doing trips when the organization was just getting going . Those trips are a blast with the right groups. We might bring one of our cars up for a small trip sometime but it might be a while.

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Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

John, I'd like to go, BUT, I'll be in Florida, Chuck Wittig was down last nite I showed him your progress,.....now he's riding my butt to get my car going,

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What do you mean by "overloaded" officer?

Well, the 4/18 trip to the Everett Railroad went well. My dad joined me for my first trip with my new car and NARCOA . About 30 cars went for the ride from Claysburg to Hollidaysburg to Roaring Spring to Waynesburg for a round trip total of about 60 miles.

I completed the "mentoring" process on this run and am now an official NARCOA certified operator!!







Thanks to the event organizer Gary Shrey and everyone else who help put this run together. Special thanks to Joel W. for mentoring.

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

john that looks like alot of fun!

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Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!

4/19 NARCOA ride from my old hometown of Bellefonte to Tyrone on the Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad. I think we had about 30 motor cars again for the 70 mile round trip on welded rail-we actually hit 30mph a few times! This doesn't sound fast but it really feels fast in one of these. We also rode the N&BE secondary out to the Greymont limestone mine at Pleasant Gap.





My dad and friends Randy J. and Ray M. joined me for the ride. Thanks to Larry Maynard for organization on this run! And a huge thanks to everyone who helped start, load and unload the car!

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

Have your very own motorcar!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fairmont ... 240%3A1318

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This ain't longwall... this is long hole!

Well, I decided to make a change to the car.

When the car was new, this is how it looked:

Since this car originally did not have a cab, the exhaust system and crankcase breather on the engine just dumped exhaust out right below the seat and floorboards. However, when there is a cab on top of a car that was not designed for one, it creates an exhaust flow problem. Exhaust accumulates in the cab, due to the circulation of air around the cab when the car is moving, and makes it painful to breathe.

Rather than try to run a complicated exhaust system to get rid of the exhaust, I felt it was easier to just take the cab off:


Now the car looks and sounds like it was meant to.

We had to relocate the lights and horn to keep it NARCOA legal. And yeah, the yellow is a little bright. I wanted to get some paint on the exposed wood and metal before taking it out and all the hardware store had was "safety yellow". I'll eventually repaint it to a more moderate yellow.

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-Thou shalt not little vein-

looks good john, i like it better. how about 2003 chevy s-10 yellow

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Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!