It is a belt drive and I made the drive wheel out of a solid nylon plastic cylinder drilled out the center and pressed a bearing in each end, Then I used a handheld grinder to carefully grind the belt groove into it so the belt was flush with the wheel so that the back of the belt actually rides on the rail giving me more traction.
Great idea using longboard wheels. Who cares you burned out the bearings. You tried and won. Ingenious idea with the wheels, the ride is so quiet, unlike steel wheels. Keep on inventing!
+Bob Johnson Or.. he could just use some pneumatic & "rubber tired" wheelbarrow wheels.. That way he could do well over 45mph.. easily -- and negotiate turnouts etc., at that same high speed.. ;-) See.? This is the type of motor trolley (Jigger) that I "rode" for about eight years, whilst being PAID to drive them, working as I was - on the NZR in the mid 1970's. www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/8464828258/in/album-72157632748258128/
The quality of the bearings has a significant impact on how well they will handle these kind of loads. Had a scooter back in the day which blew out a pair of brand-new "Chinesium" bearings from Amazon in less than a mile, have friends whose vehicles built with high-quality American bearings lasted thousands of miles with no issue.
I like your design idea with the skateboard wheels and a simple, reliable belt drive. You are lucky to find abandoned tracks. All the railroads around where I used to live, when they went out of business, they tore up all the tracks. I knew some tracks in Pennsylvania, but they were miles in the backwoods and too deteriorated and overgrown, to ever ride on. I can only dream about the beautiful, scenic, good condition miles of track, some people have
For a young fella or girl , that’s neat and simple. But for me and MaMa I’d have to make it big enuf for two, with a seat and tool box to carry “ stuff” etc. a saw for limbs etc, who knows, here in S Tx I don’t know if abandoned track...... but I can look 😃. Good use of resources to have some fun and see what you can make 👍👍
Absolutely love the ingenious simplicity! I dreamed about a sail powered one and I don’t know if anyone has tried it. Kind of limited but could be cool when it works.
I thought about a similar design. Using those kinds of wheels. Didn't figure out the drive but I think you're on to something. You gotta make it safer so you don't get hurt. That railbed is unforgiving.
awesome sweet simple design, but you can't go thru switches' or railroad crossings. just saying. i allways wanted to make one of them.. have a good time. put a seat on it. and an egg crate for water jug tools, gun, beer.
This is pretty cool. I came looking for something like this 'cause there are some disused rail lines near me, but apparently the actual tracks have all been pulled up :(
One of my old haunts feature two sets of tracks separated, in places, by maybe 100 yards. I let 25 years pass (they flew by) and I found one set had been torn up a while ago. The catenary towers were still there. I used the tracks as a trail to get to a favorite fishing spot. Even though those rails were gone I still looked over my shoulder (reflex) for an oncoming train every now and then.
I really envy you guys having these lines to run on. Here in the UK as soon as the last train left the scrapmen were tearing up the track . So now there’s nothing left.😢😢
Well, it's a start. At least you got the project off the ground. My idea (pipe dream) is to build a lightweight frame out of aluminum uni-strut, electric motor powered by a solar panel doubling as a roof, with a couple of batteries for storage. Also, mount a disc brake to one of the axles, purchased through a bicycle shop. Many modern bicycles have disc brakes now, so just one of those would suffice. Would love to get moving on this project. I live in southern Ontario.
Message for Arthur Baldwin(2 months ago) Might I suggest the long disused but still extant line between March and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire?Network Rail might not be too "chuffed" though!
Reminds me of Surfing the Tracks the way he was riding. I considered getting some used wheels for roller coasters, but hard to come by for riding the rails.
low and neat,,,until you encounter weeds or brush growing in the middle of the track,,,,you will wish for a brush guard of some sort then,,,and seats so you are sitting pretty high above it all,,,,watch for snakes also,,,in the grass and between the rails
i think id add a plastic lawn chair at least,,for a seat. And larger wheels, geared down, and double seat for a friend, and some cargo area for snacks and extra gas. but great start,,,thanks for posting
Great simple design! Me and my buddy want to build one of these. But we dont have abonded rails, what kind of laws are there if we get caught on the live tracks??
@@carlschmiedeke151 You know what Leah meant . Riding above one rail , probably with an outrigger to the second rail to maintain horizontal attitude . Think Hawaiian canoe .
isn't it weird how now people think "wow this is genius" though its so simple? its like we have come to live in such complex environments that simple things seem out of this world
Nice design. I'd recommend substituting the rubber wheels for metal though. Not as quiet but you won't lose anywhere near as much energy to friction that you do with rubber. Will last way longer too. :)
Make a similar board on the right side and attach some milk crates to it for your cargo.. lol. Then put a pedastal seat like from a jon boat on it. They sell those at walmart. You might even be able to get two on there.
I'd run metal wheels and axle -- that way it'd trip the block signals, if present, for safety. Other than this, I'm liking the simplicity and quietness when unpowered.
Wow that’s really cool, does anyone know what those skateboard wheel axles are or where I could buy something similar? I’ve never seen anything like it!
Would u be able to send me dimensions of like how u built it ive have this idea for longest time bc there is a stretch of abandonded rail road right near my house
They were just some steel unistrut I pulled out of the scrap metal bin. You're planning on building something like this you need to have more Wheels to spread out the load because the bearings were getting hot on me and melting the wheels.
very cool, could let me know detail of underside (keeper) all 4 corners the same? are they just welded stoppers? the pics dont show clearly. did you drill down through angle and us a bolted wheel on the underside?
Peter Catalano I do have wheels sideways on the bottom. from walking down tracks and taking measurement I found that there was up to 3 inches of variance between the rails on the tracks by my house. if anyone was to try this I would not use rubber Wheels again, because they tended to heat up and start to melt where are the bearings were pressed in and ruin the wheels. from this car I learned that I would need steel or aluminum wheels next time.
Night Owl Appliance Braking is lost motion. I am sure 30 mph on a board feels like 60!!. I agree the wheels were way too small. I also guess the budget for this was minimal. GREAT JOB
Any other engineers out there now thinking "hum...wonder what the max speed those tracks could handle" is :) Personally I'd start off with something like a go cart and then put in some hydraulic / pneumatic cylinders that give me the option of riding rails or running away on dirt.
Question. Do you need some sort of license or something to do this? And if not a license is there like an age requirement? Do you need permission from the owner of the tracks and if the tracks are abandoned who would you ask permission from?
Okay wow! A scene from "Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom" comes to mind when you mention that. Well I hope you get the creative bug again and build something with a little bigger wheels next time. Perhaps include flanges on the wheels also. And brakes! =P
I would imagine something like this: www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/casters/casters-hamilton/hamilton-track-wheel-6-18x1-1116-1-roller Although there's dozens of "Speeder Parts" sites that you could probably find cheaper options. This is just the replacement parts for Hy-rail wheels that go on pick-up trucks used by the railroad for inspections and engineering work.
i live near an abandoned rail line and i want to do something similar to this, i want to build a small locomotive modelled after 2 ft gauge british industrial shunters and ride on it
Travis Pooley sadly though i found out they are building apartments over there and will tear up that section of the line, the other few miles of it will probably stay though, but it will be harder to transport it over there, someday i will have a video of it, stay tuned!
+TheBrantfordRailfan hey, I usually don't like advertising for my videos on other people's videos, but I have some video's of my rail cart on my channel, maybe you're interested
Sweet. I love the 8 wheel design with the 4 guiding wheels underneath. Must be a really smooth ride.
I just can't begin to describe how much win this is!
😎🆒Cool & light weight rig.
Great scenery. Thanks for uploading. Be safe.
It is a belt drive and I made the drive wheel out of a solid nylon plastic cylinder drilled out the center and pressed a bearing in each end,
Then I used a handheld grinder to carefully grind the belt groove into it so the belt was flush with the wheel so that the back of the belt actually rides on the rail giving me more traction.
Hello. Do you have a video?
Great idea using longboard wheels. Who cares you burned out the bearings. You tried and won. Ingenious idea with the wheels, the ride is so quiet, unlike steel wheels. Keep on inventing!
+Bob Johnson
Or.. he could just use some pneumatic & "rubber tired" wheelbarrow wheels..
That way he could do well over 45mph.. easily -- and negotiate turnouts etc., at that same high speed..
;-)
See.?
This is the type of motor trolley (Jigger) that I "rode" for about eight years, whilst being PAID to drive them, working as I was - on the NZR in the mid 1970's.
www.flickr.com/photos/deeargee/8464828258/in/album-72157632748258128/
Solar & rubber lawnmower wheels
The quality of the bearings has a significant impact on how well they will handle these kind of loads. Had a scooter back in the day which blew out a pair of brand-new "Chinesium" bearings from Amazon in less than a mile, have friends whose vehicles built with high-quality American bearings lasted thousands of miles with no issue.
That is simple as it gets! I like it! Keep it light! I would add a seat though.
I like your design idea with the skateboard wheels and a simple, reliable belt drive. You are lucky to find abandoned tracks. All the railroads around where I used to live, when they went out of business, they tore up all the tracks. I knew some tracks in Pennsylvania, but they were miles in the backwoods and too deteriorated and overgrown, to ever ride on. I can only dream about the beautiful, scenic, good condition miles of track, some people have
For a young fella or girl , that’s neat and simple. But for me and MaMa I’d have to make it big enuf for two, with a seat and tool box to carry “ stuff” etc. a saw for limbs etc, who knows, here in S Tx I don’t know if abandoned track...... but I can look 😃. Good use of resources to have some fun and see what you can make 👍👍
This is amazing
Love it cant wait to see more improvements on it!
Absolutely love the ingenious simplicity! I dreamed about a sail powered one and I don’t know if anyone has tried it. Kind of limited but could be cool when it works.
Really great design, great work, I love it. Just need a tractor seat bolted on.
I thought about a similar design. Using those kinds of wheels. Didn't figure out the drive but I think you're on to something. You gotta make it safer so you don't get hurt. That railbed is unforgiving.
That's so cool! Wish I had one of those!
8_Fusion_8 Well get in the shed and start building one, let me know how it goes!
@@OKFrax-ys2op Wait, are you just now replying to my 5 year old comment? :D
😂
@@II_Timothy 😂😂😂
awesome sweet simple design, but you can't go thru switches' or railroad crossings. just saying. i allways wanted to make one of them.. have a good time. put a seat on it. and an egg crate for water jug tools, gun, beer.
This is pretty cool. I came looking for something like this 'cause there are some disused rail lines near me, but apparently the actual tracks have all been pulled up :(
pulled upz are good for trail motorcycle
One of my old haunts feature two sets of tracks separated, in places, by maybe 100 yards. I let 25 years pass (they flew by) and I found one set had been torn up a while ago. The catenary towers were still there. I used the tracks as a trail to get to a favorite fishing spot. Even though those rails were gone I still looked over my shoulder (reflex) for an oncoming train every now and then.
@@TralfazConstruction Over your shoulder it's not an oncoming train , it's a following train.
What a little beauty!
When i was a kid i used to dream about this type of rail cart. I thought of roaming the whole world with this cart. 😆
The real carts with engines and seats are much more practical
I really envy you guys having these lines to run on. Here in the UK as soon as the last train left the scrapmen were tearing up the track . So now there’s nothing left.😢😢
Don't be disheartend you
Never know what's behind a fence.
Thanks now I am looking for some metal wheels because the long board wheels were wearing out quickly.
Look for some rubber mower wheels
Use clay wheels
Use Toilet-Paper rolls , Trust me they are Great :)
Great little machine. Trust that you don’t meet the 2.35 coming the other way:-)
The power belt appears to rub on the rail. Please explain how it works. Great ride I bet!
Well, it's a start. At least you got the project off the ground. My idea (pipe dream) is to build a lightweight frame out of aluminum uni-strut, electric motor powered by a solar panel doubling as a roof, with a couple of batteries for storage. Also, mount a disc brake to one of the axles, purchased through a bicycle shop. Many modern bicycles have disc brakes now, so just one of those would suffice. Would love to get moving on this project. I live in southern Ontario.
Awesome. Building one now and was glad to find your video! Ryan in Oregon
Ahhh yea!!!
Message for Arthur Baldwin(2 months ago)
Might I suggest the long disused but still extant line between March and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire?Network Rail might not be too "chuffed" though!
I really loved this man. Way to go!
Reminds me of Surfing the Tracks the way he was riding.
I considered getting some used wheels for roller coasters, but hard to come by for riding the rails.
lawn mower wheels work well and are cheap/free
Great job love it 👍👍
No “fancy brake” I suppose😁😀
I can see my self going to Walmart in it!
I like it! This design seems to solve the problem "where do I get the wheels from??".
They were longboard wheels I just got it from a skate shop but I would do this differently in the future because they didn't last very long
I like how the belt rides inside the wheel, very clever
Nice and simple, God bless you and your family Aloha
i love how simple it is, easy to put down onto the track and vice versa.
low and neat,,,until you encounter weeds or brush growing in the middle of the track,,,,you will wish for a brush guard of some sort then,,,and seats so you are sitting pretty high above it all,,,,watch for snakes also,,,in the grass and between the rails
Bravo! An effective and novel means of transportation. Well done.
Stationary rail flanges never occurred to me. Very good!
Don't forget to take you a couple extra rubber bands with you... very simple and very efficient ... nice...
man thats soooo dope can u upgrade the bearings at all
i think id add a plastic lawn chair at least,,for a seat. And larger wheels, geared down, and double seat for a friend, and some cargo area for snacks and extra gas. but great start,,,thanks for posting
Great simple design! Me and my buddy want to build one of these. But we dont have abonded rails, what kind of laws are there if we get caught on the live tracks??
The rules of stupid…Stupid.! 😂.
Will you share the plans?
This is really Fun! reminds me of the stuff i used to build in my youth.
rickcoona lol
excellent and simple. Do you have plans?
this is awesome. thank you. have you ever made one that just goes on one side of the tracks?
Huh🤔 side of the tracks, ?
@@carlschmiedeke151 one side of the track??? this is one side of the track,,,,top side. Do you want one to ride along the bottom??
@@carlschmiedeke151 You know what Leah meant . Riding above one rail , probably with an outrigger to the second rail to maintain horizontal attitude . Think Hawaiian canoe .
isn't it weird how now people think "wow this is genius" though its so simple? its like we have come to live in such complex environments that simple things seem out of this world
Two things
1. thats awesome
2. is that abandon tracks
Thanks. Not technically but they are washed out and have been for years. Also they have some derailers installed a few miles up.
Those under carriage guide wheels, might be an issue at road crossings, and rail switches? I think they will get torn off?
Stunning and simple!
Those 2 metal shafts or axes are a supporting metal structure for electrical metal tubing?
They were just out of the scrap bin at work!
@@Backwoodbuilds Ok...Apparently they are RUC rails for support of metallic electrical tubing.
Does it have a brake?
An I think the belt won't last logger, because it gets friction to the railway and the pulley itself.
Nice design. I'd recommend substituting the rubber wheels for metal though. Not as quiet but you won't lose anywhere near as much energy to friction that you do with rubber. Will last way longer too. :)
Huh,🤔
When's lunch?
No. I love the quiet.
Good Job Sir! Looks like fun.
No brakes, no problem!
I see that you put skate wheels, but what about the specific wheel coupled to the chain?
How about upgrading to a 250cc motorcycle engine.. maybe 80-90 mph.. might want some larger wheels for that..
Make a similar board on the right side and attach some milk crates to it for your cargo.. lol. Then put a pedastal seat like from a jon boat on it. They sell those at walmart. You might even be able to get two on there.
Glad to see you had a helmet on -- Good boy.
shot from the cart was actually kinda scary, NICE !!
thats nice my brother keep up
What about a one rail motorcycle? I’d buy it!
You can do anything with a dirtbike helmet on! Add a dirtbike seat and a twist throttle!!
Fine experiment. Bravo!
what is the name of the white role for the drive?
You should put a v twin tractor motor in it
You have a track to do that but we don't
absurd.. fun
ever go bandito ?
Just out of curiosity, what do you do if a 150 ton beast comes choo chooing around a bend? Can you get out of the way in time?
The tracks are out in a spot so no trains
without working brakes it looks very dangerous. But the idea is great
How does it turn? And what happens when you get caught
Will you be able to make it like a car with passages seatings?
like your drive wheel
You could always buy the same size bearings just in industrial strength from an equipment manufacturer
since the wheels don't have the same profile as rail wheels, how does it handle switches?
I pick it up and carry it over :)
I was wondering, cool little machine tho
Extreme talented ❤️
I'd run metal wheels and axle -- that way it'd trip the block signals, if present, for safety. Other than this, I'm liking the simplicity and quietness when unpowered.
You cant be tripping signals on a homeade whatever it is,,,unless you wanna go to jail😂😃😄😃😂😁😅
Wow that’s really cool, does anyone know what those skateboard wheel axles are or where I could buy something similar? I’ve never seen anything like it!
Nickel Hacksz I am working on building a better one now and I won't be using the long board wheels again because they just didn't hold up
Backwoodbuilds aww man, they seemed like the perfect size and price, I would’ve loved to make one like that. how are the wheels attached?
Nickel Hacksz I used the correct size bolts going through the bearings with spacers
Backwoodbuilds wow, when you make the new one please share it online I’m so interested
Would u be able to send me dimensions of like how u built it ive have this idea for longest time bc there is a stretch of abandonded rail road right near my house
This is really cool. What material did you use for the cross pieces? Also did you notice them bending at all with you on board?
They were just some steel unistrut I pulled out of the scrap metal bin. You're planning on building something like this you need to have more Wheels to spread out the load because the bearings were getting hot on me and melting the wheels.
@@Backwoodbuilds Okay sounds good. And I certainly will. Thank you!
That thing flies!
What do you do when you come up to a switch?
There were no switches on the stretch I ran. But it only weighs 70 lb so you just carry it over the crossing
very nice and clever design.
That's really cool. Seriously. !!!!!!!
Wow. How damn lucky do you have to be to have a set of clean, clear abandoned rails like this near where you live??
BluntForceTrauma666 from what I hear they're going to start using them again so I might not be able to for long
Awww man, sorry to hear that! Get in all the fun you can while you are able... :D
Good job
Are those weeks skate weels
how often does it derail?
Bryan Mengwasser I Never Had It derail.
Backwoodbuilds where did you buy it
ElevatorsandTrains I made it from stuff that I had lying around.
very cool, could let me know detail of underside (keeper) all 4 corners the same? are they just welded stoppers? the pics dont show clearly. did you drill down through angle and us a bolted wheel on the underside?
Peter Catalano I do have wheels sideways on the bottom.
from walking down tracks and taking measurement I found that there was up to 3 inches of variance between the rails on the tracks by my house. if anyone was to try this I would not use rubber Wheels again, because they tended to heat up and start to melt where are the bearings were pressed in and ruin the wheels. from this car I learned that I would need steel or aluminum wheels next time.
How wide did u make it ?
All you need now is a seat , a throttle , and a brake and maybe some sort of canopy and away you go.
what is the white wheel made of
1:30 if u aded a gear u may get twice the speed
Do you have building plans for your rail vehicle and Would you contact me if so ?
great job making it light weight! pretty level ground. what kind of brakes would you put on it?
I never got around to figure out how to add brakes. Moved on to other projects.
Travis Pooley for brakes i should make something that pushes a little piece of rubber on the rail to create friction
Night Owl Appliance Braking is lost motion. I am sure 30 mph on a board feels like 60!!. I agree the wheels were way too small. I also guess the budget for this was minimal. GREAT JOB
What's the right wheel to couple to the chain?
All
Get some more wood planks and get a comfortable chair and also a throttle control and you'll be styling
Any other engineers out there now thinking "hum...wonder what the max speed those tracks could handle" is :) Personally I'd start off with something like a go cart and then put in some hydraulic / pneumatic cylinders that give me the option of riding rails or running away on dirt.
I'd build it with a pusher propellor
whats the lifespan on the bearing inside them wheels at that speed?
Nicolas Lugo just buy some reds bearing, they make all kids of skateboard bearings
Question. Do you need some sort of license or something to do this? And if not a license is there like an age requirement? Do you need permission from the owner of the tracks and if the tracks are abandoned who would you ask permission from?
First you will need to ask your mother if it is okay for you to leave the house on your own….. One step at a time……
No brakes though, what were you doing to slow / stop? The clutch on the engine maybe?
ke4cpc I was just putting my feet out on top of the rail! It actually worked pretty well, this hole thing never really got past the prototype stage.
Okay wow! A scene from "Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom" comes to mind when you mention that. Well I hope you get the creative bug again and build something with a little bigger wheels next time. Perhaps include flanges on the wheels also. And brakes! =P
I am always keeping an eye out for something that would work better!
I would imagine something like this: www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/casters/casters-hamilton/hamilton-track-wheel-6-18x1-1116-1-roller Although there's dozens of "Speeder Parts" sites that you could probably find cheaper options. This is just the replacement parts for Hy-rail wheels that go on pick-up trucks used by the railroad for inspections and engineering work.
ke4cpc yeah those are awesome. My next setup will be a drop down unit or the front and rear of my UTV like a rail truck.
i live near an abandoned rail line and i want to do something similar to this, i want to build a small locomotive modelled after 2 ft gauge british industrial shunters and ride on it
that would be really cool!
Travis Pooley
sadly though i found out they are building apartments over there and will tear up that section of the line, the other few miles of it will probably stay though, but it will be harder to transport it over there, someday i will have a video of it, stay tuned!
+TheBrantfordRailfan hey, I usually don't like advertising for my videos on other people's videos, but I have some video's of my rail cart on my channel, maybe you're interested
you in hopewell?
no I am in Washington state
Which wheels were the longboard wheels?
A look into the future.