Exploring an Abandoned Railroad in a Rebuilt Electric Rail Car is Quite the Experience

Matt Spears peered down at the wreckage of his electric rail car for three years after it came to a halt on that abandoned track. Finally, he hauled the mangled parts back to his shop and started from scratch. The end result is a machine that transports him deep into the backwoods, where roads never existed and railroads had stopped running decades ago.

Spears designed it around a Spira electric scooter, which he had always felt was unusual. Its body is built of corrugated plastic sheets and foam panels, which keep the weight down to a level that even the most neglected tracks can handle. The foam front end provides some protection in case he hits something he didn’t see coming, and the vehicle’s low weight allows it to glide over rails that would shake a larger machine apart.

First, Spears began pulling down the badly bent hub motors and rusty old parts left over after the crash. In their place, he installed a 5000-watt electric scooter motor at the rear, as well as a chain to drive a water-jet cut sprocket on a solid axle from a racing go-kart. He did not require a differential for this one. The conical polyurethane wheels attach the entire setup to the rails and keep it centered without requiring any further steering effort. Gear reduction is not drastic because it lowers top speed, but he needed the extra torque to drive through mud or climb a slight incline.

The electronics remain mostly unchanged from the original Spira setup, with the exception of a new battery management system and controller. Because the car weighs so little, the entire system consumes power at a reasonable pace. Spears conducted some testing on the shop floor before taking it outdoors, testing the engine and axle together and was pleased to see that they both spun smoothly in both directions. On his first serious run, he drove the railcar out onto a mountain stretch of abandoned track. He had to clear some fallen logs with a chainsaw he brought along, repair it on the spot when it stalled, and deal with a couple of mudslides, but he made it past that wooden trestle bridge that had stood for years. Wolf prints were visible on the gravel nearby. On the straightaways, he found himself traveling faster than he had anticipated. The ride was quite silent, but for the faint hum of the motor and the regular click of wheels on rail joints.

Abandoned railroads cut through areas you’d never see up close unless you knew where to look. Industries collapsed, new routes were established elsewhere, and these lines just disappeared into the background. Spears utilizes the train car to follow them without harming the environment or requiring permission to be on private property. The machine moves at a slow enough pace that he can stop and look around, or back up if a part ahead appears suspicious.
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