Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Small engines were used for maintenance
The little cars power themselves as they travel railroads, allowing the drivers to enjoy the scenery.
COLFAX — A group of railroad "speeder cars" and their owners convened in Whitman County on Saturday, June 19, to ride the rails.
The first option began at the railyard in Colfax and went to Thornton and back. The group may put the cars on the rails at Winona later for another ride.
"Due to grain train traffic I'm not positive of our schedule at this point," said Roger Farrell, excursion coordinator. "Wherever the railroad tells us we can go, we'll go."
Pacific Railcar Operators members come in from around the northwest for the event. They are part of a hobby in which owners buy old railcars, once used from the 1930s to the 1980s for track inspection, signal maintainers, and more. They ride scenic railroads with the permission of the railroad operators.
The ride on June 19 was on tracks that are part of the Palouse River and Coulee City Rail System.
The "speeder cars" reach about 20 mph, powered by two-stroke or four-stroke engines.
The nickname came from a term once used by loggers, as the little rail vehicles were often the fastest way to get an injured logger out of the forests to a hospital.
The cars were phased out of use by the railroads in favor of modified trucks to drive on the rails. The speeder cars were bought by hobbyists.
When the cars reach their destination, an electric or hydraulic turntable on each car allows it to turn around to reverse direction.
The cars yield to any kind of road traffic at crossings.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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