What an amazing adventure that Merlin and Brad has taken us on with this video! Beautiful country and historic railroad tracks. Thanks for taking us along Merlin!

@johnlombardi1021

Ай бұрын

i definitely agree

@KensHobbies409

Ай бұрын

Took the words right out of My mouth as What I was going to say.

The oiler is called a flange greaser. It's used to help minimize the wear of the rail.

@bronsonwhite611

Ай бұрын

Usually placed just ahead of curves in the tracks where side load on the wheels will cause friction.

@avalonbear61

Ай бұрын

Type MBJ Meco rail - and - flange lubricator

@russellrobinson4202

Ай бұрын

Awesome really enjoyed it

@cliffmorgan31

Ай бұрын

Wear and friction reduction oiler for curves…

@bobberry6028

Ай бұрын

Yep it is a track oiler to cut down on friction on the curve. Still being used on some sections. Good call @pbaemedan

Sure was a blast hanging out with you guys on that adventure! Thanks for the good time!

This track was originally built by John D. Spreckles. He was a sugar entrepreneur in San Diego, California, 1853 - 1926. The engineering people and many others said it could not be built, and it was nick- named , "The Impossible Railroad." Mainly because of the steep rough terrain going down into the desert of Imperial Valley. It was later named The San Diego-Arizona Eastern Railroad. There is a custom-built steam engine made for this railroad. It used vertical pistons for more power to get up the steep grades from the desert. I got a chance to see this steam locomotive many years ago when it was being stored and restored for the museum. They had it at NAS Miramar for some reason. My dad was in the Navy, and one of his comrades took us on a personal tour of it, and a couple of passenger cars were there. That wooden trestle is the world's biggest curved wooden trestle! To bring supplies into this area even with todays technologies would be amazing. They did this in 1920's. Solid rocks and deadly heat. The collapsed tunnels to the north of the trestle are the original train route until a major California earthquake happened around 1933. This prompted the construction of the wooden trestle. Mr. Spreckles had a mansion in Coronado, California there are many landmarks in San Diego County named after him. Organ pavilion and an amphitheater. I've been a San Diego County resident since 67 currently live near Campo, where the museum is located and very close to this trestle in the video. I actually live closer to the famous tunnel where the train goes into Tecare, Mexico, for a short distance and back into the United States.

The ties in the middle of the tracks is for the hand carts to turn on. They are moved to the side on the wooden rails to allow trains to pass.

@blacktberd08

Ай бұрын

Sometimes there was a little shed to keep the carts in also from my understanding

@arte9855

Ай бұрын

Could be the best place to turn your model T around if you happened to find yourself on the tracks 😂

@lyndonmassey3019

Ай бұрын

Also to clear track for the train

@TheOpossumtx

Ай бұрын

This is what my grandfather told me when he took me on his motorcar to see the last steam freight pass by.

@whodom

Ай бұрын

Smaller motor cars can be picked up and moved off too.

After turning the model T, I guess you can see what the wooden structures were for. Turning hand carts off the track.

@leoross5777

Ай бұрын

Those weird 'metal looking' spikes were called 'silver dollars' back when I pounded them into Timbers while on the bridge gang in the '80s on Conrail.. they're actually very large screws , a foot long that rotate in as you hit it with a 10 lb Sledge... Pre drilled with a slightly smaller hole

I don't watch videos more than once but I will watch this again.

@theuglytruth8162

Ай бұрын

Don't want to spoil it for you but, it seems to always end up the same 🤔 weird huh 🤣

@c.e.ardanaz1234

24 күн бұрын

Lo acabo de ver por segunda vez y lo he disfrutado en grande !!!! Saludos desde Argentina !!!

Its a shame that whole ride back was in the dark. Very cool trip. Thanks for doing it and takeing us along. I have never done anything as cool as that.

The ties between the rails with two additional ties perpendicular to the side; This is a motorcar set-off. Maintenance workers have to get out of the way for the trains. Each morning before the workers went out on the tracks, they got a “lineup”, or train schedule. Trains run on strict schedules….sometimes late, but never early. The workers would drive to the “set-off”, slide out two long lifting bars, pick up the back of the motorcar, and spin it 90 degrees on those ties between the rails. They could then push the motorcar out onto the ties that are perpendicular to the rails, park it, and wait for the train to go by. After train passes, the push the car back and put it on the rails. These were also used as turn arounds. Rather than backing the motorcar all the way back to the maintenance shop, they would use the set-off to turn the motorcar 180 degrees and drive back going forward.

@STRIKINGLIGHTING1

21 күн бұрын

Surly these 4 numptys should of gone back to a set off point and turned there. And taken all that weight out of the back to turn it. Or have a balanced pivot point to jack it up on then turn it anywhere !!!

@avacadovich

16 күн бұрын

Before accurate watch mechanisms were developed there was a very high fatality rate for these workers who did not get off the rails before the train came along and crushed them due to an error in synchronizing the workers watch with the train schedules. These tragedies were eliminated when watch accuracy improved.

Nothing beats Sunday morning coffee and watching Merlin's antics.

Was surprised the ‘speeders’ didn’t know about the motor car set-offs. Also surprised you didn’t back down to one to help you turn the “T Model” around. 😊

For anyone curious the water tower was Dos Cabezas Station. Steve from sidetrack adventures did a video on the history of it about a month ago it was very interesting and cool to see it in Merlin’s video

Who needs a bucket when you can create your list as you go. ;O)-

When I visited, over a weekend in the 70's, us Scouts discovered that 17 of the support foundations were washed out, and/ or the vertical timbers were just dangling in thin air. We walked the catwalks, collected honey from a hive, played grabass. Fun times😊

Great adventure for that era appropriate car. Not sure if anyone answered your questions, but the device filled with oil is a flange oiler that prevents rail wear on curvy railroad tracks. The wood ties in the center of the track and what looks like wood railroad track next to it is for speeders to be set out of the way of oncoming trains. Thanks for the ride guys!

Anyone who is walking around up there and hears the horns are going to be so confused 😂😂😂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@theuglytruth8162

Ай бұрын

Anyone walking around out there is long past being confused from hearing horns. Merlins a hoot.😂

@Tom-zo2rc

Ай бұрын

So if im walking down the tracks and some a** almost runs me over, I've got an issue that. Not cool.

@theuglytruth8162

Ай бұрын

@@Tom-zo2rc found you, 👍the one my reply was for. 🤣🤣🤣💯

Railway looks as if it has been maintained. Especially the bridges and tunnels.

@notter59

Ай бұрын

From what I can find, the last train ran in 2013. It has been abandoned since. The dry climate preserves things but Mother Nature is catching up.

Thank you. I grew up in an old coal town, lots of old tracks and tunnels in the hills. This reminds me of our adventures as kids.

amazing adventure that Merlin and Brad have taken us on. Beautiful country and historic railroad tracks. Thanks for taking us along Merlin! 134 Reply

You guys have built some crazy cool stuff but this one is definitely up there in the top ten that’s for sure!🍻

@rudiekeyser2495

Ай бұрын

Exactly 💯

@ewengillies9826

Ай бұрын

Top 3 .. I reckon for sure. What an adventure. Bushyboy Oz

Hey Merlin, That was just too cool ! Once in a lifetime adventure. Thanks for taking us along.

guys that was a video of academy award quality, thanks for the very unique ride along experience. This video reflects real quality content which is very rare these days. I like that your adventures and builds actually end up making some sense, they are not just throwing money at junk with an out come that is still junk, you guys are visionary, expending resources in a sensible way.

Have a Great Day God Bless America 🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸

Awesome adventure, thanks for taking us along...

@curteby475

Ай бұрын

very cool trip

Love my Sunday mornings with MOSG. What an adventure in Merlins 1917 model T turned into a railcar. Another creation from Dr Frankenstein great history class in a history car. The best history class entertainment . Brad enjoyed the ride

Hey guys, put a bridge in the center of gravity on the Ford T chassis, and use a hydraulic jack, so it will be enough to raise the 4 wheels a little, and make them rotate on the central hydraulic pivot, to reverse the direction of travel . I congratulate you for this excellent video!!!! Greetings from Argentina !!!

@73Datsun180B

15 күн бұрын

this is how the model T railcar at the Pleasant Point Railway Museum in NZ is turned around!

An adventure we won't get anywhere else! Thank you!

What a beautiful landscape and epic bucket List trip. Thanks Merlin! Next time, maybe put the boards under the model t longways with a bottle jack under the center of the T and spin it on the rails. ;)

@evadarrh

Ай бұрын

That's the way we do it on the W.W.& F. Ry... Our model T rail car has a balance point. We have a board notched for the rails, (2', not 4' 8 1/2"), the jack goes in the middle, and the whole car comes up off the rails, and two people swing it around!

Brilliant video. 👍🏻🇬🇧”Speeders in payment for removing the rock we’re leaving the timbers”😂🤣👍🏻

Merlin, you make Sundays amazing. Thank You for sharing your adventures with us.

This was amazing! Thank you for sharing! That bridge is historic! Seeing that rock on the tracks made me think that a roadrunner and a Wiley Coyote were once in that very spot.

Don't know if I've ever seen something as cool as this.

@rudiekeyser2495

Ай бұрын

This is the coolest video I have seen in a long time. Thanks Merlin. I have worked on the railways for many years as a Traincontrol officer. Steam, Diesel and Electric. The iron ore trains weighs up to 7500 tons in freight. Cheers Cape Town 🇿🇦🇺🇲

The bits that go off at a 90 Deg angle with wood in between the rails are to enable maintenance vehicles to put their turntable down, lift the vehicle up, spin it 90 degrees onto temporary rails and drive off out of the way for a train to pass. To save them having to go all the way back to a station/loop.

The oil box is a flange oiler. It helped reduce drag of the wheel flanges on the curves. The timber strucures are speeder "set outs". Track crews had to stay out of the ways of trains. The speeders were light enough to pick up one end, rotate 90 degrees, and roll on the timbers at track side. Looks like fun.

The structures between the RR tracks with the two planks running perpendicular out from the rails was used to get the speeders off the track to let trains pass. To turn the T around, mount a plate under the car at the balance point. When you want to reverse direction, jack the car up using the balance point and spin the car around 180 degrees. The RR had some speeders that had provisions to do this.

Well I would have never experienced that trip without you Merlin. Felt like I was there with you guys with a windshield front row view. Loved this experience! Thank you for taking us along. ❤

So for your next adventire, you need a small H frame with a pivot in the center so you can jack the Model T up and spin it in place. Great history! Beautiful trestle! Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

Wow! You guys are literally living one of my dreams right now!😊 And since this is as close as I'll ever get. Thanks for taking us along 🇺🇲

So glad we got to see the "turnaround"! Thank you

The oilers are used to lubricate the insides of rails before curves to help prevent the rail from waring out. Modern railroad use grease

The track oilers were installed to reduce friction and wear on the rails. It was also used to reduce the effects of corrosion. Cool video, thanks for the upload.

I could watch this all day!!!

Next upgrade could maybe be a 'cow catcher'/ debris blade on the front to deflect limbs, heaps of sand, you know, debris. It's a constant problem as these ARE abandoned tracks after all. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Love you guys.

The jumble of cross ties with the 2 long ties going away from the track were where the speeders were taken off the track to allow the trains to pass and for removal debris from other parts. You should have backed the model T to one of those, would have been much easier than what you went through. Great video as usual.

One of your best videos! Thank you for sharing the past! How tough and fearless and ingenious our forefathers were… God Bless you guys.

Thanks Merlin for sharing this ride back into the past. That so many people would never have seen. 👍🇺🇸

Thanks for taking us along, Merlin!

@rudiekeyser2495

Ай бұрын

Exactly 💯

The US Forest Service had 2 of the model T rail runners in 1924. There is a library of congress picture of one on the internet. My source from the forest service told me that one was lost going over a cliff after derailing and the other was just junked after use. Nice video of a very scenic track.

Omg! You can't believe the smile you put on my face when you waved to the drone.I have always wanted to go there amazing footage And choice of music for the work scene. Ps. Im very grateful for your parents and your uncle for making you a mechanical genious.

Hey! You found the trestle that I messaged about on the last video. I was a bit off on the location. I've never been there, just seen a video of someone hiking there. Glad you found it and got to go visit.

Man, that Model T handles like its on rail! Awesome adventure, thanks for taking us along!

Man! What an adventure! That was awesome! You can see why they called it "The Impossible Railroad." It goes all the way to San Diego through Mexico. Great video!

A little hello from Belgium guys. What a chance to travel this old track on an old Ford T. I've already wanted to do that, but in my country it ends up at the police station, with big problems. Magnificent journey

This was a delightful adventure, full of great scenery and friendly banter. Thanks for sharing the journey and history.

That was sooooo much fun! Thanks for taking us along. Epic journey !

Awesome fun there! 😂 I love the idea of converting an old ride into a railway adventure vehicle. The abandoned rails across America are last unexplored off-road trails to be enjoyed, but with rail drivable vehicles. 👍

@heartland96a

Ай бұрын

I believe there are a number of speeder clubs/ groups across the country that travel portions of railway with permission from owners

Thank you for the trip Merlin. A great ride of history!

That was Awesome and great Video your work on the railer Is Outstanding and we appreciate your time Thanx for sharing this Great 👍 Adventure

That place u was asking about is where the cars full of rocks and dirt from the tunnels being built was dumped over the side of the mountain. Every where u look u see where brave hard working honest men worked and died. I've worked building tracks and last few years we worked we was undoing alot of old tracks. Now trucks do most of thè transportation of goods. But rail was King not that long ago. Love u're videos Merlin, I even like Brad some too.

Hey guys thanks for a ride it's been fun have a good one

I appreciate seeing that gorgeous bridge

Brad and Merlin's Excellent Adventure!

Merlin, i made my first trip through Corrizo Gorge in 1975. Went with San Diego and Arizona Eastern railroad employee on a motor cart out of Jacumba. Of the two rail cars, one contained Coors bear

@IEchuckie

Ай бұрын

And the other ice ?

That bridge has been on my bucket list for a while. You just upped the ante, Merlin. ❤

That look on your face when you first got going I think you had your doubts! Loved the video! I want to go next time!

@Yuccabillybrad

Ай бұрын

We did but it worked!

I have hunted the Rockies from Canada to Mexico for more than 60 years. Now, I wish I had followed some to the tracks pit there. Great video for old desert rats like me. LOTS OF MEMORIES.

Thank you for taking us along. Beautiful

what a amazing adventure

From my limited railroad knowledge, the second track at 5 minutes in is a bypass that allowed one train to be filling with water while more trains can continue on their way. Track oiler at 11 minutes is a flange oiler, to lubricate inside faces of the rail to allow trains to go around tight turns easier. And the timber "crossing" at 22 minutes looks to be a leftover from a railway maintenance shed. A shed like that would house some tools, supplies, and a small speeder. The speeder would get man-handled onto the track and the crew would take it to the job site.

I like the idea of a 1917 Model T on the 1919 steel rails. I believe where the platforms off the tracks were built for the Timbers they needed to stock to build the bridge and they also could have started out as a crane platform to move the boulders out of the area. I served with the US Army corp of Engineers They were teaching us how to build Timber Trussel Bridges in 1979. In the early days they did a lot of work by Hand and some machinery.Thanks for the Adventure Take care.

All I can say is WOW! What an adventure thank you for taking us along.

thats awesome you guy did this great video drove those tracks with my Dad in his old ww2 jeep we made about were you guys did thanks for the memories

Thank you for the Train ride and a part of my teenage years. We used A 50 Plymouth. Dropped the air pressure turned up the idle and road for hours. Never touched the steering wheel. Sat on the roof or hood drinking sodas.

I luv it Mer..... grown men actin like children IS the object of the game..... carry on and god bless ❤️🇺🇸

Merlin - You Need a Rotator Mounted Under the Model T - That Lifts and Rotates - So You Can Turn Around - So Much Easier...Just a Thought...Stay Safe...Thanks For the History and Beautiful Views...Stay Strong...

@davidphillips7321

Ай бұрын

Love That Horn...Thank You, Again...Stay Safe...

@shaggy1958

Ай бұрын

Those oak wedges I mentioned on earlier video and a 5’ needle bar would make turning the model T a lot easier

I believe, well on this side of the world anyhow it’s for unloading ur track vehicle maintenance gigga as we call em to allow trains to pass Would no doubt have been a great place to turn a model T around too if u happen to come by one on the train tracks 😳😬🤣😎

That's the nicest rail cart so far. Much more stylish than a 4x8 hunk a ply, two lawn chairs and a Harbor Freight 4 stroke. Those larger wheels cut right through the shallow sand.

The pump oiler at around 10min mark is a greaser, pumps grease onto the flange of the rail when a train passes over to lubricate the train wheels and rails. normally on curves where the force from the wheels is greater on the flange of the rail and the wheels, to prevent wear.

those are hand car set-offs, they would turn the hand car and roll it off so a train could pass by

@rudiekeyser2495

Ай бұрын

Exactly 💯

Thanks for the ride along Merlin and gang. It was very interesting. God Bless

This was a perfect movie 🎥 sets nice ,rustic as I hold my heart and salute my us flag 🇺🇸 with the start on NASCAR at. Talladega thanks BigAl California.

Being train and trestle fanatics, we just happened upon this video and we loved it!! 👍👍Thank you for taking us along, it was lots of work!! And your comedic segments!😂😂

What a Fantastic trip.

It's amazing how well preserved all that stuff is. Cool trip. I always wanted to do that with like a go cart.

You guys need to look at a few re-railing videos. Two jacks either side of the tracks and a plank with the top side greased to bridge between. A second plank on top of the one straddling the tracks. Jack up to lift the car with the plank and push the top plank plus car along the slippy bottom plank. Sometimes it is better to chock one of the wheels on the ground to prevent the system collapsing. Good luck.

Ya,that was an awesome enjoyable watch ,thank you for sharing

Morning Merlin and gang!!!!!, 👍🇺🇸

Very cool adventure, thanks for taking us along. 👍👍

Way to go, Merlin and Brad. That was absolutely awesome. Only on MOSG 😂

Thanks so much for sharing this adventure. 👍👍👍

Merlin, again…. So great to see… you guys moving rocks like the flintstones.. so great to see…

That was great thank you for sharing!!!!!!

Amazing!!!! Thanks for the ride along.

Love this drive, so much history. ❤❤❤❤

Thanks for another great one

THAT was an awesome adventure!!! The scenery, unreal, those bridge structures, wow!

being from Ohio it was cool to see some of that track was made here. what a trip. thanks for taking us along.

Outstanding and awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

Merlin, this was simply SPECTACULAR!!!!

You can never tell what Merlin will come up with next. Eather way cool ride.