Our local railroad museum, where I volunteer, offers pump car rides. Sometimes the kids seem to like them better than the train!
The track is pretty level, which helps. Pieter Roos --- In [email protected], Jim and Cheryl Martin <farnhamhouse@...> wrote: > > John: You are a true pioneer and not given to moaning about the state of > what is or isn't available. I'd love to meet you some time. As for pumping > hand cars, the answer is "yes!" > > About 25 years ago when, to quote Billy Joel, I wore a younger man's > clothes, I was hanging out with a bunch of hand car and speeder enthusiasts. > Most of their equipment was Fairmount speeders and trailers, but there was > one hand car in the mix. It was hard and somewhat hazardous work. The pump > handle doesn't freewheel like bicycle pedals do...it's directly connected to > the axle. Once you get up a head of steam you have to be careful or it will > start pumping you, or worse, crack you in the jaw and send you flying. > > Anyway that summer, a local rail fair on the Toronto waterfront advertised > hand car races. We entered, figuring ourselves to be shoe-ins. It turned > out all the other teams were weightlifters from the local gyms. One team > pumped the car so hard, they threw it and themselves off the tracks, an > incident that at least kept us from finishing dead last. We went home with > our tails between our legs, but with our jaw bones intact. Those old > railroaders were tough guys. > > Jim Martin > 25 years old and hiding in a pensioner's body. > > > ________________________________ > > I started with Cleveland Models paper and wood. Chopped up a > gon or 2. > > > Any of you ever pump an old hand car? > > John Armstrong > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
