My brother owns 2 railroads, one is a commercial switching yard, the other a tourist/dinner car. I just made a visit to hang with him for a vacation and we took his Ford truck with its "hi-rail" gear out for a spin on the tracks.
We went north on his tourist line which goes 7 miles out from where we started. The first pic is his truck. Second pic -We had to wait for the "rail explorers," peddle cars, to zip by before we set the truck down on the rails. Third pic is traveling down the tracks, they run along the bay and is the scenic route the dinner train excursion takes. Pic 4 is the end of the line. There used to be a bridge, but it was taken down, so the tracks end at water's edge. The tracks are raised up fairly high so you can look down at a cove/beach area on the left and a marina on the right. We tailgated our dinner and hung out for a while.
The adventure began when we had to back down the tracks as no place to turn around. Sun had set and was getting dark, so on came the lights - at least for a while until the rear spot lights went out for no reason. But, no issues going back until we got near the terminal yard. They are installing a new switch track and siding, which was not yet completed. Going backward, we hit a rail that was higher than the on we were on. The small wheels of the "hi-rail" jumped the track and our truck tires came off the rails, dropping down on the railroad ties. The hi-rail system got a little tweaked. The idea was to get the truck tires back on the rails again, but first we had to get the hi-rail system up. It was bent & jammed and it took a little effort to get it lifted up. Next step is to block the truck tires so you can drive forward onto blocks, like stairs, and get back onto the rails, then drop the hi-rail.
It's now night, and dark. Being right at the edge of the terminal yard, we could not drive off the tracks with the Ford in 4-wheel drive due to our location and the terrain at that point. So using my brother's phone as a light, we drug up boards & flat concrete blocks, put them under the tires, pulled up on one level, then built the next level, and so on - just like stairs. The truck did not want to cooperate and go straight onto the tracks. So out came a railroad jack and we jacked up the rear bumper and lifted the tires up higher than the rails, and I gave a shove to topple the jack sideways, sliding the truck tires over just a few inches. Did this 3 times and the tires were now on the rails. Then we dropped the hi-rail back down on the tracks, locked them into place, an began back down the track. Took us about 1 1/2 hours - mind you this is my vacation.
We did not go 50 feet and the truck jumped the track again at a loose switch track which was part of the track work. So we drag our "stairs" from 50 feet away and proceed to do again what we just did to get the truck on the rails. Again, truck tires just would not get on the track enough to drop the hi-rail even though we did get the tires on the track. My brother said he had had it and we were in a place where he decided to 4-wheel it up and over the tracks and down a mild drainage ditch. The truck sits high enough it clears the train tracks and the engine/trans is tucked up high in the frame so no issues with taking off an oil/transmission pan. So he eased the truck up over the track at a time and off to the shoulder. I checked all the tires for any damages, got in the truck, and we drove off to go to his house. It was another adventure & memory with my brother.
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