Lots of railroads built model T and model A track inspection vehicles. Your steel tires need to be wider than the rail head a couple inches and cone shaped (larger diameter on the inside flange side . ) Then it will stay on the rail at full speed.

I just have to add my comments here. I am a Canadian. Back when I was a teenager, (16 in 1960) I had a 1947 Ford car, My Father had a 1951 Chevy. My brother and I first put the Ford on the rails. We did not even let air out of the tires. Just line it up on a crossing and idle out on to the rails. We were cautious at first until we figured it out. Both cars had standard transmissions. We never touched the steering wheel and don't touch the brakes. We went over switches and crossings. My Ford could get to 45 MPH and it felt comfortable. The Chevy did 55 MPH. We used to get out of the car and ride on the fenders and hood with nobody inside. I would drive from Carman to Sanford, a distance of thirty miles before turning around on a crossing and returning to Carman. This was always done at night time with no lights on because we knew that it was illegal and we could also have a better shot at seeing a train if one happened to be coming. Later on I put a 1957 Ford and a 1959 Ford on the rails. A 1967 Chevy would not fit because the width between the wheels changed. I never got caught doing this, not by the law, not by the rail road and most importantly, not by my Father. My name is Larry, I live in Carman, Manitoba and so far I have lived to be 80 years old doing stupid things like I just described.

@kellyjones841

Ай бұрын

Larry thanks for sharing your story, enjoyed it. Originally from Sask, yes we did alot of things that no one would do now.

@althomas6496

Ай бұрын

It's only stupid if it doesn't work!

@FiatUno2003

29 күн бұрын

I would love to do something like that one day, specially here in Brazil where 90% of the rail roads are abandoned. I just wish I had friends to do stupid stuff like this.

I think you need to make the wheels more conical, more like real train wheels so it always stays on the rains and always drifts toward straight and true. Thanks for sharing, looks like fun.

@dasfoot

Ай бұрын

Ha, I just came here to make the same comment. Tapered wheels also allow trains to go around corners. Merlin should check out some KZread videos on the subject. Search for tapered train wheels.

@danw1955

Ай бұрын

I thought the same thing after watching many rail speeder videos; they always have a good bit of angle on the wheels where they contact the track and probably an inch or more of side to side play on the ribs so they don't bind and try to jump off.😉

@jfv65

Ай бұрын

Maybe also make those vertical lips a bit bigger.

@toddmccarter45

Ай бұрын

I bet a taller flange wouldn't hurt either

@wldstrknwv

Ай бұрын

Yeah I was thinking a taller flange edge would help a lot, along with the tapered rim

I thought you were a little Off the Rails But now you proved it

@kurtludwig6962

Ай бұрын

😂

@stevezwemer1262

Ай бұрын

😂

@daddyroot48

Ай бұрын

🤣😂

@ewengillies9826

Ай бұрын

One track mind. Bushyboy Oz.

@timkaldahl

Ай бұрын

Better to be a little off than a more on.

Wider flats and a bigger flange, that will allow for track variation.

@Paul-nq3xb

Ай бұрын

I would think that if you had a 2” tolerance on your wheels to track width, allowing up to an inch narrow and inch wider because of the lack of maintenance being done on the track. Definitely a deeper flange on the wheel would be beneficial also. Also maybe spray on some bed liner on to the wheels, maybe it would provide some traction/braking and make it quieter.

Watchin Merlin doin his thing just livin life and havin fun😁 lovin every minute of it! No better way to spend a wed morning!

My father, who was born in 1918, often told stories of the things they did with old Model T's. From Doodlebug tractors, to Cat style tracks and ski's, to rail cars. He always said that the Model T was the most versatile vehicle ever built.

Add a small simplex jack and some oak rerailing wedges to your kit. Congratulations, you just created a wonderful antique rail speeder. Great video.

Merlin you are like a kid always coming up with different fun thing to try.

The old abandoned track out by Butte MT in the Homestake pass would be awesome… very very very scenic!

@dsma2023

Ай бұрын

If you want to get arrested for felony trespassing, then sure, great idea!

Are you familiar with track inspection cars? They're wheels have a deeper flange to help prevent derailment, we had a fairmont rail speedster the wheels were about 10 inches with a 3inch flange, great idea ,I've seen model t speedsters before at shows.

@dunxy

Ай бұрын

Also the old track is for sure tight on gauge and more variation than stuff thats actually used. Owned a few "speeders" myself ;)

@royreynolds108

Ай бұрын

Fairmont M19 motor car wheels are 14 inches in diameter with about 1.5-inch flanges. Other standard MOW wheels are 18 inches and 20 inches in diameter. Flanges are no thicker or wider than 1.5 inches. I have a Fairmont B4 motor car with 14-inch wheels, a handcar with 20-inch diameter wheels, and a velocipede.

All that’s missing is a bell and a steam whistle! 🚂

@jaybird4095

Ай бұрын

you can get exhaust whistles for Model T's. I truly needs one!

Rail Runners are cool AF . I never thought of a model T though . Leave it to Merlin ... Aw hell why not ! lol

My dad was track inspector for many years. He had a set of oak wedges that went from tie height to ball of the rail height. If he derailed, he put a wedge in front of each wheel, drove up to rail height, and used a long pry bar to slide the wheels back over and onto the ball of the rail. The wedges were about 18” long and stacked easily under his seat. Just an idea so you don’t walk a few miles to get a jack.

@georgevindo

Ай бұрын

Or maybe just bring a jack.

@kellyjones841

Ай бұрын

Shaggy, that sounds pretty smart. Got about ten years experience with amusement park train. Anybody who says “just use a jack” has never dealt with a derailment.

@mark8544

Ай бұрын

​@@georgevindo...yup, a jack gets you up, now all you have to do is get across which is easier said than done.

In 1946 I saw my first rail runner Model T. I was just a five year old kid living between Norwalk and Whittier, California and it looked like so much fun that I can still see it in my memories.

Other youtube channels brought me to Merlin’s space, basically he is my favorite dude by far because all the crazy projects he put out, all his rat rod ingenuity and also because he works on Model T’s and Model A’s, Merlin you are the BEST.

My mom would tell a story about a old boyfriend. He had one of them foreign two seat cars.(I think it was a MG midget maybe) He would let some of the air out of his tires, and go on the railroad tracks! She said he did that because it was, faster by railroad tracks to get to town! This would have been in the twenties in Texas!

My grandfather Dan Little told of stories where old Tin Lizzie's/The model T was repurposed with rims that would traverse the railroad tracks as Henry Ford modeled his cars to the specs of standard grade rail road tracks.Love your videos.

Cool experiment. We tried driving a 63 Chrysler on railroad tracks and got it stuck. It took us an hour with a bumper jack to get it off. A half hour later, a train came by. At least you're not running on an active line.

The Galloping Geese were converted to track use.

I am a Havasu local and I agree that Chico's is the best. One of my favorite foods there is the Carne Asada in anything! It is the most tender juicy and flavorful thing. But I also have had their carnitas and just about everything else on their menu and all is amazing. I even got to say hi to both Merlin and Jimmy there having lunch. Merlin, isn't the old pickup truck painted on the wall a painting of one of your own trucks?

When I was an apprentice toolmaker at Ford UK, we built several scale models of the Model T. I think they were one seventh size, but it was a long time ago (1968). I can remember making the suspension components as my job. I'm coming up to 75 now, and still using the machine tools at my Menz Shed, and I have a decent wood shop at home.

I had to space my fronts 1-5/8 inches and rears 3-1/4 inches to make my Model T run on the rails. I ran my tires on the rails and made a steering device to make it stay up. It became hands free at that point. Nice quiet ride and you could drive to the tracks and back home when you were done.

Ah, one cool project! You can see old pictures of T rail cars, this is fun to see one 'in person'!

My Grandpa's first car was a model T. He worked for the parts on Neighbors farms near Odessa MO. There were train tracks near My Aunts farm. Grandpa didn't have $$for tires so Grandpa n 2 friends would pick it up, set her on the tracks n head to town. I'm 64 now Grandpa's gone. But I was at the ol farm....found what was left of Grandpa's ol T. I was 12. Far as I know the rusted ol T is still there.

I think you need a bigger lip on the inside of the wheel and on the rear wheels line the flat of the wheel with an old tire tread for traction . IMO Looks like fun though.

@akghound

Ай бұрын

If the rim is too big it hits the plates that join the tracks.

2:42 , cutting the windshield down will make it more aerodynamic as well!

Railroads started doing this with Model Ts basically as soon as they could find them to experiment on. They were very commonly used by track crews and were a big improvement over a handcar. Very often they'd build a trailer to pull behind for tools and materials. Particularly back during the Great Depression, railroads were pretty broke and built all sorts of interesting equipment to try to save money, maybe even avoid bankruptcy. The Federal Government wasn't anywhere near as strict about allowing home-made equipment out on the rails, so the railroads got very creative! Larger versions of these actually operated in passenger service instead of using steam trains: if there were only a few people traveling, this saved a lot of money. The ones I know best removed the steering wheel because the front axle was fixed straight forward, but kept the steering column because of the controls mounted on it. This of course meant the motorman drove the thing with the butt of a steering column pointed at his chest like a spear, but people didn't think about safety as much as today! Some of these had a portable turntable mounted underneath that would lower a base that would rest on the railheads and then lift the car up, balanced so all four wheels left the rails. If it was done right, one operator could swing the car around so it would face forward for the trip back home. Another approach was to mount a gear on the driveshaft and have a mechanism to move it from side to side at the axle end. It would mesh with either of two axle-mounted gears facing inwards so the car could go either forward or backwards at full speed. The only wrinkle here is Henry Ford never meant a Model T to go backwards either very fast or very far, and the air-flow through the radiator wasn't sufficient to keep the engine from overheating if they overdid it.

Really neat build you guys got here! The railroads used to use these during the depression for track maintenance when Fairmount Speeders weren't readily available. I'd suggest you guys to take out the steering wheel and permanently lock the steering column to be straight to prevent having to hug the steering wheel constantly while going down the tracks. Larger flanges on the wheels would help a ton as well.

A couple of years ago the Canadian national railroad shut down a spur line of about 150 miles , I made a light steel chassis that my 500 Honda Foreman quad sat on, one wheel of the quad sat on the rail, the other rear wheel stayed suspended in the air, I am able to click it into 2 wheel drive, my first trip was a hair raising sixty mph, i went through the next town over and the looks I got at the crossing was worth all the hrs of building it, make a cart for it to sit on is the easiest way

@kellyjones841

Ай бұрын

Haha that sounds exciting, maybe scare the shite out of a guy

Merlin for the win. Riding the rails in a buggy. What a woot,hoo would have thought. Thanks for taking us subscriber's along for the ride. ✌️👍🤙🤙😁😎🍀🍀🍀🍀🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🪄🪄🪄

Farmer near me ran a model a pickup on the old pumpkin vine rail line for years to feed cattle and hogs , I remember the brakes didn't work very well

Railroader here. You need a small amount of play between the flanges of the wheels and the inside of the rail. It helps keep the flanges from riding up onto the top of the rail and derailing like you did. Taller flanges would help as well.

...I think you may have to find a way to lock the steering, as in the railway jigger style. Locos don't need steering wheels. Let the rails do the steering. I'm enjoying this. Good luck! 🙂

I believe back in the day railroads around the world modified Model T's for use as rail inspection vehicles. Some would hold a crew of 6 along with their tools for adjusting the gauge and performing minor repairs. The WW&F has one still in operation on their narrow gauge track. In New Zealand they used to Model T in remote areas for passenger service on the rails too. Best!

Ive seen someone on KZread build a wooden flat cart to take a trip on the abandoned tracks in the grand canyon to an old railway bridge. Their cart wasn't great but it made it. If anyone can make something like this work its Merlin!!

All you guys needed were engineer hats, big pair gloves, and you’ve been set. Awesome job. You guys keep up the good work. I love it.

Pretty much what our old grandads went thru back in the day before What we have for transportation these days. If Merlin was around back then we would have flying cars these days.

man i love your channel. i just picked up a 1930 Model A and your channel has taught me alot.

Another thing: rail wheels are are coned at 1:200; this rends to centre the wheels on the track - this probably only works on a solid axle. The mentionarticle has a really good outline of a good wheel, courtesy of Fairmont Motors...

My grandfather and his buddies bought model T's in their youth. They would take the tires off and place it on RR tracks. They would then run it down the track until it ran out of gas, and they would push it off of the tracks and walk home.

We had one individual in my home area, who would reduce the air pressure in his tires, which would allow the tires to wrap around the rails and keep it in place. He would make bets on how fast he could get into town on a narrow twisting road, than take the shortcut using the railroad tracks and tunnels. It was always done at night, so nobody noticed the flat tires.

Merlin, that xr is screaming your name in the corner… you and Paul need to make a dirtbike video this year since all his kids ride too! Would be a blast ;)

Pretty cool rig! I would suggest, a steering wheel lock of some kind, and those bolts on the outside of the wheel, might be an issue, when you try crossing a railroad frog, if you know what that is?

This is way cool! Love trains so crusin in an open model T thru the desert would be the top of my list on things to do! great job!

When I was about 12 or 13, they removed all of the old track. They used to run through my town. I remember right before me and my dad took his truck and drove down the track. He probably went about 5 miles stopping at people's houses. When you were alone the way that would be so fun. I wish they would have left them intact.

The shenanigans you to get into. Thank you for sharing! 😊😂

Merlin always has something interesting to work on. This rail riding model t is no different.

I think you should dress up from the era and get a black and white portrait made of the T and you on the tracks. Make it look vintage.

Gave a whole new meaning to 'taking your car to the track".

Another channel I subscribed to years ago is Archie Moreno and his little fox cart .... he doesn't say much, but his rail riding adventures are interesting and oddly relaxing with his homemade rail speeder

Proves model T's and Merlin is unstoppable

we used "Go Karts " we also put flanges on both sides of the wheels . I don't know how you would do it on a model T but having the axles on a kart where they would move in and out is a plus . Doesn't have to be much maybe a half inch or so . The kart wheels mount way different though .

Come on people, this channel should be 500K subscribers by now!

Here in Boone, Iowa we have the Boone And Scenic Valley Railroad. About 16 miles of old 90lb track crosses the Des Moines River over an ancient iron bridge. They run very heavy trains including the last steam locomotive ever made in China. They also run a fleet of electric-powered speeders! Contact them about running your machine! It would make a good video in a scenic location!

So cool, I’m 76 and I never stop learning. I’m learning stuff from you that is great!!! Great videos Guys !!!👍👍👍

You guys are too cool to watch! Thanx for sharing your rail rider with us.

Can't help thinking what the local constabulary must think when they see your trailer go by. What the heck are those silly old coots up to now?😅

The C&S (?) had a modified Model T they used as an inspection car on the South Park branch. There is a photo in the book “The South Park” published by the Colorado Railroad Museum ( long out of print). The car is in Fairplay, Co. On the Main Street heading for a convenient gas station to get fuel. At the time, you could do that because the road wasn’t paved. I guess from the caption, there was a pin in the steering mechanism that was removed when on the rails, but when necessary, they could put the pin back in and drive the car normally. Good ol’ American ingenuity.

I made a rail road cart out of a snowmobile trailer. I started with rubber tires from the front of a riding lawn mower and mounted disc plates from an old field disc. The first try, I ended up with flat tire. I ended up making the rear wheels from Polyurethane. I think that you will need wider wheels and you have to have the wheels have the inside of the wheels a bit bigger around then the outside wheels. The angle will keep the cart on the tracks even on any curves on the tracks. That is the way I did it. I'm not saying that you have to listen to me, just a suggestion. Good luck!

RailTown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown California has a Model T rail service car on display. I have a picture of it from one of our visits.

Good project! I'd lock the front steering, so it is rigid and wont shimmy and if at all possible add a taper to the tread (out here often 1 in 20) this will rend to make the wheels self centering. Many such beasts were used here in Australia.

@Mark_Bridges

Ай бұрын

Tapered tread only self-centres if the wheels are locked together. If they can spin at different speeds like on a car then it doesn't work at all. A taper only makes the heavy side drop down and the lighter side run against the flanges.

@kellyjones841

Ай бұрын

Yes tapers only purpose is to self differential wheels, because they are solid to axle. Some genius a couple hundred years ago figured it out. Small dia for inside wheel large dia for outside

When you're on the tracks, You should film it in Black and White like the Charlet Chaplin and buster Keaton movies.😄

I have wanted a model A or T ford ute...(flatbed pickup) since a kid of about 5 years old. I have rebuilt a couple for people but here in Australia they bring premium dollars. Your jallopy would bring $25 - $30 000 here! Great series but I would have rolled some 3/8th flatbar for rims. This is a great series! G'day from Tasmania

going off the rails in the crazy model t 🎶🤣

Now this would be fun , throw in some camping gear in the back and make adventures out of Model T Rail Camping .

You need an Aermore Exhaust Whistle for the tracked T.

Hey Merlin, Old route 66 used to follow a lot of railroad track. Ya might look on Google Earth and find some pretty good sections you can run on and have an on road back up crew to follow along incase a Woops happens. As to the wheels, think about how a rail car is set up. The wheel assembly under a rail car is called a truck. The wheels of the trucks have much more inside rim to run against the rail. The wheels are pressed onto big solid axles that have no give. The axles are running inside large lubricated metal boxes that are allowed to move up or down a little bit but not fore and aft. And all of this is very heave which is heave and under a heavy car and load. Then look at the Model T front axle with all of it's built in joints. Even bolting that tie rod solid to the radius rod there is still wobble at the hub and into the spokes. Then wooden spokes wobbling inside steel rims that have had half of their rigidity removed from the outside. There are places in south america where people have vehicles with wheels/rims built to run on the rails. There are stations along the rails where the vehicles can be driven onto or off of the rails for wheel changing from pneumatic to steel. The model T just does not have much weight to help it hold down force on the rails. Anyway, that's my thoughts on riding the rails. Have fun, stay safe

I like it , definitely something different and makes a guy excited , from the normal road stuff 😉 🤓

Looks like that should be a lot of fun.

Yep you need camber on the wheels surface where it meets the rails. It depends on the cone shape to remain centered. The flange thing is secondary.

@Mark_Bridges

Ай бұрын

Tapered tread only self-centres if the wheels are locked together. If they can spin at different speeds like on a car then it doesn't work at all. A taper only makes the heavy side drop down and the lighter side run against the flanges. He definitely needs the flanges.

@kellyjones841

Ай бұрын

Taper is for self differentiating. 200 year old technology. Left curve in track, left wheel small diameter, right wheel large diameter. Right turn opposite

@pjaq3862

Ай бұрын

@@Mark_Bridges I did not think of that. Thanks for the correction.

@pjaq3862

Ай бұрын

But I don’t understand how having fixed wheels alters the physics?

@Mark_Bridges

Ай бұрын

@@pjaq3862 There are a few good explanations on youtube, from "Practical Engineering' for example, or from Wikipedia. Search for railway wheel shape. Those videos/pages explain it better than I ever could.

Your mind never sits still Merlin....thank you for that.

AWESOME RIG! GOOD JOB!

Cool idea you have here man! How about the tracks in Ocotillo wells by Goat canyon. It has the largest wooden bridge around and a great place to hike.

Cass railroad I. West Virginia you’ll love it and anyone you bring will also. Take that motel t to the top of the mountain and enjoy the view 🎉

My heavy wrecker has railroad wheels on it! Because I use to go get all the stolen vehicles from along the tracks and on the tracks! Even helped clean up train wrecks!

it has been done before my grandfather worked for southern pacific railroad in indio calif back in the early 20's i have pictures of the old rail inspection car that was a model t they also used a model a

We played on tracks ... had some cheap wood ramps and a small bottle jack to rerail ourselves.. Also, we fabbed up a detachable Panhard bar from the frame to the pitman arm to lock the steering. Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

the phrase "high speed runs" made me chuckle!

Conical wheel-treadMost train wheels have a conical taper of about 1 in 20 to enable the wheelset to follow curves with less chance of the wheel flanges coming in contact with the rail sides, and to reduce curve resistance.

Awesome Merlin, that looks to be a lot of fun, once you find the right track.

A derailment ski to limit the drop off distance until Model T comes to a stop. brush trimming saw, or shovel. Northern Idaho has tours or clubs that ride rails, i.e. the Lewiston area.

I believe their have been model T mow and track inspection vehicles... Don't know if any originals are left but cool replica

SO awesome!! If I lived out there I would absolutely be either modifying my welding rig to be able to ride on the rails or build a rail speeder that could attach to my truck so I could hop on anytime. I saw someone running their railcar over some rails where the bed had been washed out and they were hanging in the air. I would love to try making it over those sections. Some type of clamp or clip that would secure the wheels to the rails would be great so that you would never have to worry about wash outs. Looks like so much fun Merlin!! Going to need a roof!! or at least a roll top removable roof. That sun is HOTTTT!

Riding the rails, Merlin's style old school garage way! It doesn't get any better than that! It's always a pleasure. Catch you on the next. ✌️😊

My ex brother in law's uncle belonged to a group who took speeders up into the Northern territories and traveled abandoned rails along mining camps. Whole towns were abandoned. Very dangerous but it looked like fun!

Instead of a Rock Crawler you gotta Rail Crawler! Awesome!

we did that with our vw buggies just reversed the front rims and lowered the tire pressure .worked great.we went threw a tunnel with one headlight and the hikers thought it was the train.

Great fun we have favorite joint in Waco, Texas. Casa De Castillo been open 100 years plus same family . Great Tex Mex. Gotta support local.

There is a old Rail Road that runs from Black Mesa, AZ. to Page, AZ. it was used to haul coal to the Power Plant in Page.

The flange doesn't continuously ride the side of the rail. It there to prevent going off the rail. We have track in western Washington.

Talk about re-inventing the wheel!! The old photos of model T railcars show bigger flange on the inside, wider rims and a small flange on the outside. I guess to make up for inconsistancy in the rail lines. Many didn't have the steering fitted.

Very good blacksmithing work, I would not have your admirable patience for this meticulous work, but I congratulate and admire you for the achievement, now there are miles of abandoned tracks and in beautiful places!!!, Greetings from San Luis Argentina!!! In Argentina there are train crazy people, who have built several vehicles, some on railway "bitches", with Citroen 2CV engines, 600 cc and 30 HP. !!!, with central hydraulic pivots to minimally raise them on the rails and reverse their direction of traffic. Others, the most daring, have made them by placing half of a scooter with a set of levers to choose its direction of traction, on an auxiliary transmission wheel. Without reversing the buggy on the tracks, just turning the seats!!!. Hey guys, good rails ahead of you and better adventures!!!

Hi Merlin. Nice setup, but there is one aspect built into most railroad rail vehicles from bicycle based ones to the putt putts, and thats a variable width mechanics ... basically its a spring loaded horizontal bar which gives you side push between the two front wheels and two back wheels which allows the wheels to go wider or narrower as the RR track widths are never "true". The spring auto adjusts this width as you drive. ALSO maybe make the inner ring that keeps the wheels on the tracks just a bit deeper so its not inclined to jump off the tracks so much during this spring action as you drive. Otherwise that car would make a great RR track vehicle. Were up here on Vancouver Island and our RR tracks are not in use on the northern sections of our RR. Our neighbour made many of these vehicles from bicycles and that was his main secret for success ... a variable width front and rear axle to keep the vehicle firmly planted on the tracks at all times. Thanks for the episode, don't give up your on the right track no punn intended.

You need to check out the galloping goose #1 in Colorado 1913 model A on rails

From 1908-1928, the Hebard Cypress Company had a railroad to haul timber out of the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia. Footage still exists of Model T’s they used to run people in and out of the swamp in lieu of the logging trains. These cars had large solid cast wheels on the rear axle and a four wheel truck (like a rail speeder flat car) whip pivoted under the front cross member (in place of the car axle). The front truck functioned like one on a steam locomotive.

@josephjohnson3073

Ай бұрын

On that same 1926 footage, the Hebard family had gone on a duck hunting trip to Floyd’s Island in the Okefenokee. At the end of the rail line on the island, there was a manual kind of teeter-totter turntable where the Model T’s were driven up onto two rails and, balanced with the rear rails being lifted by two men, the car pivoted around, and the front rails being dropped onto the outgoing rails for the return trip to Hebardville/Waycross.

Great job guys. Thank you 😊

Keep having fun!!

I love the concept and best wishes on your dream!!!!

Make yourself a pair of Rerailers and carry them with you.