Railcar 007 - Harvey and Dan's Unique Rail Speeder

Rail Car 007

Railcar 007 October 2005
Rail Car 007 as purchased in October 2006

History of Rail Car Canada Prototype Car 007

This car is a rare prototype rail inspection car that was built by Rail Car Canada Ltd in Ontario, Canada, in the 1970s. Rail Car Canada was purchased by Woodings Ltd and this design became the Woodings CBI model rail car with a different cab. This prototype car has many similarities to the Woodings CBI, including a center drive shaft and rear differential. Only two cars of this prototype are known to have survived. The car is unusual due to the enclosed cab, including the solid doors, and is actually ten inches shorted than it is wide. The enclosed cab was a useful feature of rail inspection cars used in the cold Canadian climate by the Canadian railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. Woodings Railcar Limited ended operations in 1991.

Car Restored by Les King

In the mid 1990's, when the rail speeder hobby was beginning to become organized, the late Les King of Ohio obtained and restored Car 007. The doors were missing and had to be recreated by Les. Due to the design of the drive train, Les was not able to mount a turntable in the car. This is somewhat problematic since the car weighs about 1,400 pounds.

Previous Owners

In March 1996, the restoration was complete and the car was purchased by Peter Loscalzo of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Peter was a retired FBI agent and ran the car on several excursions. He replaced the clutch and the original engine with a new Briggs and Stratton Vanguard Twin 18 horse power engine in 1996. He also added the distinctive black stripping and several air vents to the cab along with other improvements. The careful maintenance records Peter kept reflect his dedication to the hobby.

Current Owners

The next owner ran the car infrequently. When Dan Page purchased the car in October 2006, the engine had only 70 hours on it. The car is now kept in Western New York, a location convenient to many New England and Mid West NARCOA rail excursions. Dan and his dad Harvey now enjoy quality time taking the car on weekend runs. There are several active NARCOA chapters in the region, including Ohio Valley Railcars, Northeast Railcar Association, Northern Central Railcar Association, Volunteer Railroaders Association, and Central Pennsylvania Excursions, that sponsor runs they have been on.

Improvements

Dan and Harvey have made several improvements to the car. Before the 2007 season, we completely refurbished the trailer. After the 2007 season, we added tear drop windows on each side of the windshield to improve our visibility at crossings. We also added an 8" brass bell. For 2009, we changed over from conventional to LED tail lights that also flash when the brakes are applied for added safety. We also changed the revolving light on top to a LED strobe for the same reason. For 2010, we have made major electrical improvements and we hope finally to have a conventional turntable installed.