Other than money and parking, what's stopping me from buying a hi-rail truck?

I guess I figured that you had to be with a train company to buy one but found a bunch for sale last night. (I got distracted.) 

I'm kinda digging the Supervisor SUV models: "Send your track supervisors down the rail in style...."

So, can you put those train wheels on a Miata? Asking for a friend. 

(Sorta related: You can also buy your own locomotive: Call for price on a 1957 EMD GP9.)

I was the plant manager of an auto parts plant that made foam seat cushions. Our chemical (3-4 rail cars per week) were our lifeblood and the major railway servicing the plant decided not to continue service on the 25 mile spur we were on. One of their engineers, nearing retirement, purchased his own engine and leased the 25 miles of track to continue service to our plant and a couple of others in town. As far as I know that's still the way the chemical tankers are arriving over 20 years later.

I predict the latest trend in fauxverlanding out in Western States with abandoned mining towns! 

"Hey bro, do you have the rail riding option yet?" 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

BC Rail used to run a 70s Honda Civic Hatch for the rail checkers at least from North Vancouver to Squamish so I’ll say Miata plausible.

I knew a guy that claimed he used to let the air out of the tires of his Pinto and ride on the roof for miles. The track width checks out, not sure if his story does.

Real men use a Hi-Rail Cadillac. And then run the railroad that they are president of straight into ruin.

This little Jeep FC that New Haven had is probably my favorite though.

Paging Jim Pettengill...

I sell to a lot of Railroads and figured I should buy one and use it for sales calls.  

Kinda of that "I'm here to go or do whatever you need" mentality.

I can't get past the ugliness of the 4 Runner, but I heartily approve of everything posted after it. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Whatever you do, do not sign up with an account at OzarkMountainRailcar.com so you can check out the prices on all their equipment. That could be really dangerous. 

Just remember active railroads take trespassing very seriously and there are weird railroad laws from the 1800 still being used. That and the fact that there might be millions of pounds barreling down those tracks you want to play with serves as a caution. 

tremm said:

Can a large truck enter/exit track anywhere? I'm imagining difficulty just driving over a full-height track perpendicularly, let alone trying to get it aligned parallel between the wheels

I guess I assumed they enter at crossings. 

tremm said:

Can a large truck (>/=f150) enter/exit track anywhere? I'm imagining difficulty just driving over a full-height track perpendicularly, let alone trying to get it aligned parallel between the wheels. I don't know what the minimum clearance height/tire size is for that

Is it that tall?  I've never actually gone out to check, but from a distance it doesn't look any higher than a curb and F-150s don't have any trouble climbing those.

David S. Wallens said:

tremm said:

Can a large truck enter/exit track anywhere? I'm imagining difficulty just driving over a full-height track perpendicularly, let alone trying to get it aligned parallel between the wheels

I guess I assumed they enter at crossings. 

Only enter at crossing.  This also means only exit at crossing.  So, if you're not really supposed to be there and a big ole train is coming around the next bend, there is no way to get off!!!

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Whatever you do, do not sign up with an account at OzarkMountainRailcar.com so you can check out the prices on all their equipment. That could be really dangerous. 

Whoever sent you that link was a real shiny happy person

Surprisingly the railroad track that are near my house and go by my work would actually make for a longer commute. 

File this under "stuff I didn't know I wanted to know a lot more about"

I used to do a lot of excavating for the railway. I would air down my tires and go. I once buried four horses that got on the tracks and were mowed down. Four horses and a freight train means a lot of horse chunks. The section crew foreman pointed the scene out to me from a good half a mile away and then puked. A few of the crew were also puking. But I am a farm kid so whatever. Good times.

In my neighborhood I frequently see Norfolk Southern GM crew cab pickup trucks that appear to be duallys from the side, but when you follow one you realize they are single rear and have drop down rail wheels for and aft. It seems all of their service vehicles are rail wheel equipped.

There is an easy way to ride the rails. Rail car speeder club

Rail speeder cars are easier to store and manage. Some clubs do allow hi-rail vehicles to participate.

You need to carry insurance on them.

You must enter at a crossing.  The truck can crawl over the 8" high rails, that's not the issue.  First, imagine working that hard to get the front tires just right, then as the rear tires squish up against the rail but they won't climb it from that angle.  They'll just slide alongside until they reach a spike and likely rip the sidewall.

I think the primary difference between rail trucks and regular trucks is the tires and wheel offset (depending on the truck's track width).  The tires are built kind of like G-rated, 14-ply so they can carry the stress of the weight on just the very center of the tread without abnormally stressing the belts.  The offset on that Yota doesn't look far off from stock so it may be fine, but the tires are unfortunately designed as a necessity.  They are awful on the road because they have to be engineered that way for the small amount of time they spend on the rails.

Note extreme offsets in some applications.  There are many ways to do it, but (again, depending on the width of the original truck's track) you are more or less taking a non-dually truck and using dually wheels to move the tires inboard.

I would also imagine that this stresses bearings something fierce 

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Always some huge running boards too.  Often some unique hand-holds mounted too.  I imagine that getting in and out of the pickup while up on the rails is a huge step.  

Also, I'm not saying that I want to drive my hi-rail on the tracks. I totally understand physics, probability and trespassing laws. I just think it would be cool to have those train wheels.