DIY Rail Speeder on Abandoned Urban Railroad
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- čas přidán 11. 05. 2021
- I brought my electric railway kart out to an abandoned railroad in the city. It's still not very fast, but now that I've installed a chain guard I can smash through a lot more brush and weeds! We checked out some forgotten industrial rail sidings, old overpasses and trestles, and saw some severe track damage that keeps this track from being used.
Just imagine you're a driver approaching a rail crossing, the lights start flashing and the bells start ringing. And after minutes of waiting, you see this advanced go kart thing just casually plodding along from left to right in front of you, then an advanced bicycle as well and after several more minutes the crossing finally opens up again.
It would be funny, but its not possible he is not sending a signal that can trigger the gates
@@igneousmoth4329 Maybe add a loud horn
@@igneousmoth4329 Plus they could be deactivated
@@igneousmoth4329 The "signal" is a short between the rails, usually caused by the solid metal wheels/axles of a train car / locomotive. If his cart has solid metal wheels/axles he can do the same.
@@lorenwillis425 This - but that assumes the signaling system is still connected/operational, and also small things like hi-rail vehicles do frequently have problems providing enough load to correctly trip some crossing gates. This goes even for the pickup trucks and other inspection/maintenance vehicles on actual railroads, often they will stop short of a crossing and have a flagger to be sure that its clear of traffic.
MY MAN, YOU NEED TO PUT A LAWNMOWER BLADE BENEATH IT. THAT WAY YOU CUT GRAS AND RIDE!!!
😂 Nice idea man.
Or a hedge trimmer thing in front to chop the brush
He could the lawnmower motor as power to
@@datguymiller at that point just convert a lawnmower lol
@@midgeholt8863 big blades on the front, just hope there isn't a dog
Plot twist: the railway decides to reopen after discovering that the track needs less restoration than initially thought.
Give me a break. There were literally trees growing in the middle of the tracks. They’re abandoned.
@@42luke93 I don’t think Michael was referring that they were just going to run a train down the track without doing maintenance repair or some kind of other inspection… meaning they weren’t just going to go down the track blind.
To where? There’s nothing at the end no more.
That would be funny
@@Doing_it_right_the_first_time Thank you.
imagine if the railroad crossing activated.
I took one of the last regularly scheduled trains down this line in December 2011
It’s out of service forever. You could not even get a locomotive that far. You would derail on the bridge entering the line . Rails are not tied to the ties
@@rachellynnpeterkin7490 yea, I don't know for sure but I guess the other end is a dead end so it sounds extremely unlikely for a train to get anywhere where he was riding the rails and even if the rails still were properly secured that wood bridge might not be able to hold any significant weight anymore after seeing it was even burnt at some point.
Some states have laws that they have to be hooked up till the rails are removed.
If your spreder had Steel wheels that would actually short the rails, that could actually happen. Many times the crossings are owned by City or county municipality and they don't immediately cut the power to the crossings when the railroad stops using it.
@@randknu1 At least on Google Maps Street View, it looks like all of the equipment sheds for the crossings actually still have power... So in theory, if the axle and wheels were all metal, you probably could set off the crossing gates... Dunno when that imagery was captured though.
Wow, sweet! I really wish we could do this in the UK but there isn't *that* much abandoned infrastructure with usable track left.
You do have amazing canals.
Same here in France. Plus we'd be guaranteed to get some officious jobsworth turning up to tell us it was "interdit"!!!
Sad that their is a lot of abandoned and crumbling infrastructure in America. Its a reflection on that empire.
The transport police wouldn't be too happy, either. Even if you could find any decent length of unused track, it still belongs to the railway.
I do remember watching a video of a home made rail cart in the UK. I think it was motorbike powered with the back tyre on the rail and they were on an abandoned south Wales coal line.
You should put a giant train horn on it and blow it when crossing the roads. lol
Or a klaxon for the comedic effect
@@Epsicronics
I think it would be funny to hear something like a train on an abandoned rail crossing,you decide to stop, and then this DIY railer passes in front of you.
“Train Horn Pranks 2 - in the weeds”.
For those who still think he’s in danger of encountering a train after all he’s said: there’s no customers on the line, and it probably hasn’t seen traffic since 2015 or before.
I think it looks like a cool ride like the mountain coasters. How fun this would have been
also trains do not appear out of nowhere. Lots of time to remove himself and the vehicle from the tracks.
There may be no traffic over the line, but that' doesn't mean someone doesn't own it. What he's doing could be construed as trespassing and he still runs the risk of getting clobbered at a crossing.
It's still trespassing
@@mattwilliam5522 LMFAO
It is surprising how fast a rail line can become unusable when neglected. Not just weeds, but trees will be growing in the middle of the tracks. It can take as little time as one year for the line to become impassable. One storm could do it. If you see an old line with rusty rails that seems unused, but there are no weeds, and the tree branches are trimmed away, it is not abandoned.
The decay probably started while it was still in use. I live near a railroad line that was eventually abandoned. In the years before it was abandoned, it's scary how neglected the tracks were while still carrying freight.
@@beefchicken That's how it usually is. Freight doesn't care how rough the ride was or how ugly the sights might've been, long as it gets to its destination undamaged. Phasing out the infrastructure with no changes to the maintenance regimen to keep costs down isn't the smart way - why keep it preserved for decades to come, when the line's days are already numbered?
Same tends to happen to vehicles, and not just rail ones, though vehicles can be relegated to other duties.
Those tracks are in surprisingly good shape
I've crunched through a paved over crossing with a GP-9, so paving over doesn't necessarily mean you can't encounter the train. Doubtful, but not absolute assurance.
Likely not in USA you didn't. If I understand correctly there are some railroad regulations to follow.
@@dennisb-trains23 Gotham, WI 1988
I'm sure a GP9 could handle those grade crossings that haven't been maintained in a while.
*Canadian National MLW intensifies*
You probably did a number on your wheels running steel wheels through asphalt !
This was oddly satisfying. Thank you.
For U.S.A. Standards yes. For European standards, If a real road gets abandoned (which is rarer is the first place) a lot of the time it will be preserved and gets turned into an tourist attraction. Usually and bicycle railroad of some sort.
That was so interesting to see from the perspective of what my grandfather saw when he worked for the Big Four in Terre Haute Indiana (Duane Yards). He would inspect the line on the way to Indy. One week, after he had worked there a decade, he told his boss that the wheel was loose on his 'car', but his boss insisted he go out that day anyway. On the way home, the wheel came completely off and it threw him into the ditch and the wheel crushed him. It happened right next to the RR tower between Coal Bluff and Fontanet (no longer standing) and they called an ambulance. He lived just long enough for grandma to get there to say goodbye. My daddy was only 2 yr old (1932). He tried to 'wake' his daddy up (from the coffin) to see his new suit. Grandma brought a lawsuit, but only received $100 for his life! This was during the depression and grandma took in laundry to eek out a meager living for her 3 kids. Anyway...thanks for doing this...how cool!
Wow, that's quite the history! Thanks for sharing!
Bonnie Moerdyk,
Terre Haute, Indiana eh ?
I thought that was only a place made up for the Steve Martin movie DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID.
Hard to believe people Actually live there.
Of course, the same could be said about here, Missoula Montana ...
Was anyone else sad that the larger man didn't let the little bike guy have a chance to ride the kart?~ He looked totally sad by the middle of the video~
If you did this in England you’d be killed by a firing squad, our railway operator Network Rail aren’t known for there sense of humour.
I'm reminded of a similar legend local to me. In 1965 following the Beeching closures a local made a trolley using a bench and a motorcycle engine. He would often explore the Scarborough to Whiby line. Naturally British Railways and the police were keen to catch him but they were often thwarted as they were on the road and the trolley kept using the tunnels to escape
The U.P. aren't much better, I have been threatened with arrest by merely being along an abandond R.O.W.(not even on the tracks!)...
@@timnewman1172 it all depends on what the railway is classed as. In the UK all Railways were built by act of parliament so abandonment involves a lengthy legal process. There is also the issue that the Permanent way is regarded as private property so good onto the line or even in the Railway boundary is regarded as trespass .
There are multiple rail operators now.
Oi! Ye got yer rail loicense?
Usually if a rail line is abandoned, the rail and ties are removed. This line is more likely out of service which means the railroad still owns it. I worked in the rail industry for 30 years so I am somewhat familiar with the way things are handled.
Abandoned is a state of service to the line and service to customers. It is not a status of ownership.
@@stevelabonte9020 Incorrect. In order to abandon a rail line, the railroad must receive permission from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which then holds hearings and decides whether to grant permission [they usually do.] Even if the line is abandoned, not just "out of service", someone has legal ownership of the land under the track. So technically, if you're there without permission you are trespassing.
This looks like SO much fun! 20 years ago maybe I could have done that in this area, but most of the decent abandoned track has been turned into bike paths at this point. That's good, sure, but having my own personal railway would be so much better!
Pretty neat, buy yourself a lawn chair, that couldn't have been to comfortable for the few hours you had to sit like that.
Nicely done. What a great ride. You should get the speedsters to join you. Always sad to see the abandoned lines.
It is amazing how much disused trackage there is in the Twin Cities even today.
Was this the Twin Cities?? I should get out there and check it out, I'm not far.
@@AKSoapy29 Yah, I think this is the trackage that used to lead up to the Ford Plant.
It's crazy just how much abandoned rail infrastructure there is on the North American continent in general.
Absolutely brilliant. In the UK they turned some abandoned railway lines into walkways and having walked a few of them the scenery can be stunning and there even re establishing some short routes. What goes round comes around! Oh maybe you should consider putting a sythe on the front!!!
Sounds like fun. In Japan, even abandoned lines are controlled and off limits.
So I envy you.
This is an amazing video! I’ve lived in St. Paul my entire life, and many years in the West 7th neighborhood in particular, and this was a fascinating look at al lot of places I see on a daily basis but thru an entirely different lens.
Lived in st.paul in the eighties near Rice st..loved it there..
I imagine it must be odd seeing a place you've lived in for so long on CZcams I imagine?
I lived next to Sibley plaza right next to the Jiffy Lube, and remember the trains in '97. A long distant memory.
It has always bothered me how we let the rail system abandon so many industrial sites and towns , then we needed more heavy trucks destroying our highways. Now we live with one of the most inefficient transportation systems. Millions of shipping containers still moved but end delivery is now by long haul trucks, not short haul when we had more rail sites.
"that's why we brought the chainsaw"
-> immediately proceeds to lose the chainsaw. that made me chuckle. what an interesting adventure though
Imagine going to work like this.
Not so far fetched, look up the bamboo railway of Cambodia.
Great video! Nice to see an electric rail rider. I kept saying, "Don't derail" when you were going over that muddy water
what if another CZcamsr is coming in the opposite direction, on the trestle. Lol. Good use of battery power btw
Ingenious, cool. Like having your own private railway.
This is so awesome to me! It looks like a blast to do, too! Thank you for sharing this adventure with us.
The bike is what I like we need one like that!
Thank you for providing us with this video presentation, it is most interesting and we are glad to see that the Railcard worked so well. It was good that you had your colleague with you on the railbike. That railroad certainly needs some maintenance before it would ever be safe for normal rail traffic. It looks like you have to yourself for the foreseeable future!
Cool stuff!
In addition to the chainsaw, perhaps you should bring a trimmer with a brush whacker blade too next time. Those things are great for weeds and young trees of a few centimeters thickness
A cordless "sawsall" works great too!
I just searched "abandoned railroad" and I see "posted 1 day ago"... "4 years ago"... "5 years ago" 😂
I love railroads but search rarely for it, so I guess this is perfect timing
Can you build some kind of weed guard for the front wheels ? Maybe something like the old cattle guards ?
Then put a sharp sickle bar in front of that! ;-)
Sortof a rotating calamity of chainsaws and hedge trimmers like a battle bot
@@NicholasAndre1 cool idea but also probably too risky and if a cop sees it you would probably be asked some questions.
@@Lucas_van_Hout you’re right best add a few flamethrowers 😂
Very satisfying video to watch. The suspense of what may lie around the next bend grabs you like a hook.
If you're ever in upstate NY, check out the old abandoned railway that runs through Shandaken. It's in very good quality in some places, and runs through some stunning scenery.
Thanks for the tip!
4:49 this place looks like the one from Back to the future ending scene!
Those track seem in better shape than a number of active lines
super cool - amazing it's not all fenced off, especially the bridges. Everything like that is completely fenced/locked out here, especially any bridges going over roads for "safety".
A 1964 Oldsmobile dynamic 88 fits the tracks here perfect. In the early 80's we use to put a keg in the back seat and 6 or so of us would party up an abandon Milwaukee road track and back down...an all day affair on a weekend...best of times...
Nothing says the end of a video like a couple of vultures. Great video and well produced. The fellow on the bike must be a great friend..."Can we stop now? I really need a soda..."
Strait up blissin! I thought it would be a short vid at first, but thanks to the chainsaw, it looked like a pretty cool adventure!
That's a great improvised rail cart you've fashioned. Splendid design. My grandfather was part of a section gang prior to World War I in South Dakota on the Milwaukee Road. They used the old push-type (heavy) rail carts made for the repairs along the siding. Haven't seen one of those in years!
Excellent video - really enjoyed watching your adventure.👍🇺🇸
Neat little video! Well done guys!
Totally different angle of St. Paul, very cool!
I saw a cut down version of this video from Unilad Tech on Facebook and it liked to your channel. Neat work!
It was a great ride! I Loved to see where and how the line ends. Best regards!!
you should fit a solar panel on a canopy or some such and a regulator, it would assist with charging as you went along.
Your potato Howitzer just popped up in my feed and that's how i ended up here.
Scrolled through your content and subbed.
:))
Oh man when I was a kid I thought about this idea a lot. So many shut down lines by the mid seventies in rural twin tiers. They weren’t all scrapped out until ten years later. Like the electric motor idea because it’s quiet. Stealth is nice. But yea I’d install a Freon sports can horn. Just for emergencies. Nice.
Awesome. A lot of great urban camping spots alone the way.
Awww! Last time I saw one like this was when I was 7. A small patch, but sooo interesting !
Great video. Hope your back is ok after the ride (on the cart with no stock and with constant stop for cutting down small trees).
Really cool, great home builds to go exploring on, looks like fun. Like Paul said, we have 1000’s of miles of old lines in the UK but all the track has long been torn up, so exploring on foot & bikes only, still fun though.
This is awesome! I’m a huge railfan and have always wanted to build my own speeder like you have, and the tracks leading to the abandoned Ford plant in Saint Paul are a great candidate for exploration. If you are ever looking for another stretch of abandoned line to explore, there is about 10 miles of abandoned Soo Line track south of the Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific interchange in Shakopee. It was considered for commuter rail a while back, but the proposal never worked out. Most of it is grade separated, and the few crossings are all intact.
This is the sad truth about railroads in the US. A lot of them are abandoned and now only 7 main freight and 1 main passenger companies remain. There are other tourist railroads but seriously, we have to get our train game up. Cities like Louisville, Nashville, Vegas, and more once had train service, but not anymore, at least when I’m writing this. As a person who likes trains, the horrific railroad infrastructure is a terrible look on our country.
Won't happen without a lot of eminent domain seizure for high speed rail. That's the reason the high speed rail between Dallas and Houston will never happen. Owners don't want their land split by something that's not at grade.
imagine if the railroad crossing goes down for just that one rail speeder lol
Not enough weight to set off arm sensor.
@@barrycarlisle4511 in North America track circuits are used to activate crossings, not weight sensors. A small electric current runs through the rails and when the circuit is shorted the crossing is activated. This rail is probably too rusty for even regular rail equipment to trigger the crossings, we have that problem on some lightly used lines.
I have always wanted a handcar, so I could do something just like this. You boyz are freaking magnificent!
Very cool! very very cool! I really like the bicycle innovation, very steam punk.
Need to hook up a wheeled brush cutter to the front. That has got to be possible, and awesome.
I'm thinking Battlebot technology - real life application!
What a great stretch! Great b-roll at the end, too. Really cool city view!
So glad I found your channel. I live close to that railroad. Neat to see from this perspective. Cool stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it! It's definitely a different view of the area.
I didn't know what to expect. But to be honest, I had a blast watching this! Subscribed.
That's one heck of a wooden trestle but the view of everything unbeatable. At least the swamp didn't swallow up the convoy. Thanks for sharing!
There’s still a few tracks left here in Newfoundland from the old train watching your video I just had an idea make a small stealth train camper only requirement a woodstove🍗🤯
The bike brings a whole new meaning to " Riding the rails ".
You guys are Awesome!!! Excellent Video!!
Now you just need a K5LA horn and some earbuds 😂
its like something you would see on gmod train build
Randomly stumbled across your channel.
A buddy of my in dfw Texas helped build something like this but larger scale. He used brake rotors for wheels. The weight is carried by the “hat” of the rotor and the rotor surface guides the car. His power supply is a modified ride on mower engine. His family gives tours of a mill they own that dates back to pre civil war times.
Cute little day trip f milo & otis. Reminds me of rural trespassing escapades in 1976 hoofin it across the trestle in Fredericktown Ohio. Looking down between the decaying derelict railroad ties to see free empty space prob. 60 feet straight down messed with my stomach. Didn't help either being 14 & never did anything insane before. Some parts of the distant past I miss.
Good thing you used rubber/plastic wheels. Those crossings might be still connected.
I would grow my beard down to my knee's and haul around a squat jug of homemade for this. This could be my life, I would be ok with this 😆
that car looks like something i would make in gmod. sick asf
This is fun to watch. You drove right by my dad's old house (50 feet from the rail you were on).
You should name your rig "Weedpiercer"
Seeing this reminds me of the railroad safety rule: "Before crossing tracks, anticipate trains or on track vehicles on any track in either direction at all times and don't rely on your hearing."
Trains are sneaky like that.
A badass project I’ve wanted to be able to try for a long time, seems like some weed whackers should be mounted to the front haha
Haha, thought that to at the first patch of brush. Fern Gully style. Might take a bit to get through the saplings tho. I think this is more a Sunday picnic vehicle than Mad Max tho. I'd still like to see it. Willing to bet there's a few weedeaters in his pile.
"I Would So Frickin' Love To Do This, Outstanding"!!!
Going over Tressel distance shots made me think on Buster Keeton's 1965 film "The Railrodder" short traveling across Canada on a rail speedster.
At the outskirts of my city there is military tracks that is no longer hsed since many years like more than 20 years and those tracks go near by military camps and Offices
Go ride them!
@@ZAPATTUBE military people will shoot bruh
Great wee vid with perfect music! 👍
So cool 😎 would love ❤️ to do that.
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome video! There's an old railway line right by where I live (it's been closed for over 20 years) and rumors are that they want to convert it into a bike path, but it's kind of been in limbo for over a decade. The tracks at many of the crossings have been ripped up during street repair projects, but you can still find track along the line. One of these days I just want to go walking down the track but I don't know if I'd get in trouble or not (Union-Pacific probably doesn't care, but I'm unsure about local ordinances).
Dude, this is AWESOME. Why don't you have more views?!
Right !!!! I at 49 didn't even know this existed!!! Thank you for adding more knowledge .
@@puggsandgunsandthings If you think this Nimrod has ANY clue about the actual legal and financial ramifications of what he is doing worst case scenario you need to check w/some actual rail industry authorities.
That line probably legally "out of service" not "abandoned" and good chance eventually he will become a news story or statistic. There is a national organization called NARCOA of which he is assuredly not a member!
@@kenhanks9620 well then hopefully he reads your response as well and adjusts his activities if indeed what you alege are true.
On another note , I appreciate you telling me this because I won't look into the activity ever if I come across it. I have to be careful with what I see versus what is actually being shown.
There is another channel about this " hobo " who train hops which at first I found intriguing even though I knew intellectually its illegal besides being very illegal. But what got me was he " tagged " his name on the rail road property, the gray boxes you see at railroad crossings but at the yards. I stop patronizing his channel because of the combined activities.
Have a wonderful day bud. 😊
@@kenhanks9620 also , I tried not to attack you personally as you started to about how I need to check. Actually you should be directing that to the poster not me. To me you should have said " that is dangerous and no telling if the tracks he is on are really closed or are even safe to be on," FYI brother.
I have Aspergers so I analyze everything said to especially if someone begins to what I perceive to be an attack.
Be well friend.
@@puggsandgunsandthings Mr. Coleman I am sorry if I came across a bit strong w/you as that was not my intent but too often people like this poster irresponsibly lead others unknowingly into unwise, illegal or dangerous activities.
Just to let you know I am an operating member of several museum and tourist railroad operations as well as being a member of several national rail operating organizations. Additionally I also own and operate a rail passenger car in excursion service and so have had business and operating relations w/several of the large freight railroads as well as the necessary regulatory and safety agencies.
A number of times in the rail business we have had unpleasant as well as unfortunate experiences w/people acting stupidly, etc on rail property and operations then we have to clean up the mess and deal with the ramifications.
Though not a member I have had experience w/NARCOA, the organization of speeder cars, and some if their members and it is a thoroughly legal, safety conscious, professional and extremely enjoyable group you might find very entertaining.
Once again appreciate your reasoned replies and hopefully I added a little to your understanding of this matter.
I know alot of people are saying to hook up some sort of lawnmower to the front/underside. I would wage against it as that is a huge hazard for kicking up whatever is littered on the tracks and turning it into a projectile.
Well done.looks like a great time
I really wanna do this! That is a childhood dream right there!
I love the random stuff you do. Keep on doing it and hopefully your channel will start getting the views it deserves!
Nice to see the rail buggy stretch its legs a bit. I'm in your camp mate, sitting here looking at the biggest DC winch motor ive seen, Dad dropped it off this arvo. I'll try n get it running this weekend, then have to find a job for it. Have a old 60's 4hp outboard that's seized, reckon it will fit in the cowling (it's phat, not long). A pile of 180w grid connect solar panels that were free. Sure I can find a canoe or Hobie cat or something. I don't have railways, but I do have bays and rivers. Solar sailing seems like a neat idea. Keep it up dude, random junk turned into cool toys is something I'm 100% in for.
Fantastic video! Thank you. I'm watching this at 4am. 😀👍
Either the worst best idea, or the best worst idea ever 😂 the cutting edge of screwing around I love it
Impressive battery
That was pretty cool, how far do you think you traveled, and how is it the dude on the bike did not get tired??
We probably only went 4-5 miles, I cut out a lot of the slower parts where we had to stop and clear brush or put the vehicles back on the track. Bike guy does more biking and is in better shape than I am :-)
@@saveitforparts "LOL" great video, I watch a lot of rail cart videos, a real great way to see great sights and nature on a rail cart,
wonderful vid, looks super fun
Woa. The bike is almost even cooler! 😀
Love it. Great sense of adventure.
Add a custom push mower, HUH, was that a train approaching? XD
Great way to adventure man 👍
Funny how things look so much different from the perspective of a rail line. I would have guessed some where in Chicago until I saw the Shmitts beer sign I hope they turn that into a bike trail soon and hook it up to the greenway extension.
Do you know where this is? i would love to explore this place once i am in the states...