Hi all,

I recently stumbled across a photograph of one of the very unusual Evans AutoRailers hidden away on the property of Clark's Trading Post in New Hampshire on eBay. I was unaware that any had been preserved in the United States but when I did a quick search on Google relating to Clark's Trading Post and the White Mountain Scenic, I was unable to find any mention of the autorailer pictured. Unfortunately, the photo was taken quite long ago, 1962 to be exact, so my hopes aren't very high that this rail bus has survived.

If anybody has any information relating to this piece of rolling stock, such as what happened to it, where it is now, or any other interesting information, I would appreciate your input. Also, I believe the car was previously owned by the Grasse River Railroad of New York.

Thanks,

Nick Jobe
Centreville, VA

Hi Nick
Could you post the photo, thanks Pat.

Yes, I apologize for not posting the image. Forgive the quality, I'm taking the image directly from the eBay listing.

Thanks again,

Nick

You could probably contact Clark's directly. Family owned and operated forever. They might be able to tell you what happened to it.

I will say I have not seen it in my visits there between 2008 and 2018.

Here is a link to a vehicle in Alaska described as the Chatina AutoRailer. I do not think the Alaska vehicle is an Evans AutoRailer model.

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/02 ... efore.html

And here is a link to what looks like an AutoRailer locomotive, allegedly stored in Superior, WI.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrscharroo/8160604664

Wesley

Thank you for the replies. I will send an email out to Clark's to try and figure out what happened to this strange contraption.

In response to your message Wesley, I'm pretty sure these are in fact Evans products as the model resembles those utilized by the Arlington & Fairfax Auto Railroad which owned a number of the cars. I've attached a picture of one of the A&FU cars in service. Other railroads which I know owned Evans Products include the Narragansett Pier Railroad of Rhode Island and the Arcade & Attica in New York.

If I am mistaken, please let me know.

Thanks,

Nick

Here's an article with history of the Evans AutoRailer with a film clip showing one in action. Very interesting.
https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/for ... to-railer/

Found slightly more information on a Worthpoint page. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/orig-slide-wmc-white-mountain-central-1939977100

"White Mountain Central Evans Auto-Railer #109 (ex Grasse River)"



Roger

When I recently inquired, it was "NOT FOR SALE".

Plenty of goodies rusting away at Clark's.

C.

"When I recently inquired, it was "NOT FOR SALE".

Plenty of goodies rusting away at Clark's.

C."

So are you telling me that this railbus is still at Clark's? I tried looking up some history of the car but I wasn't to find anything concise on the internet. Interestingly, The Arlington & Fairfax Auto Railroad did have a car numbered #109 on their roster. I wonder if this could be that car? The book that I received this information from states that the car was sold to the Arcade & Attica Railroad and then ended up on the South Shore Line as a MOW vehicle so maybe not but a weird coincidence either way.

Thanks for the replies,

Nick

This piece has a photo of the one in use as a line car on the South Shore....

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/03 ... -rail.html

I'd never heard of these vehicles before, so I had a search online yesterday for more information!

This gives a some different information and I was surprised to find that the USATC had some for use in Europe in WW2....

https://www.wodfriends.org/autorailers/

There is a video that explains how it works here ("perfect riding comfort at all speeds" but you can see the operator and passengers bouncing around): https://www.wodfriends.org/autorailers/. I was also amused by the page from a "science" journal with one so-so idea (unfortunately the rail bus) and two very bad ideas listed. Edit: 70000 beat me to it.

The U.S. Army had a number of those built for military RR use in the European Theater. I believe that most got used in Italy, but at least one was in almost daily use on the Claiborne - Polk Military RR in Louisiana as well.

Here is a photo from the Military Rail Service Journal, July, 1962 of one of the army ones in service in Italy.

The photo in the WOD website referred to in 70000's post is believed to have been taken at Camp Claiborne.

I believe a body of one of these streamlined versions was listed on-an-off on Ebay several years ago... Located in Nebraska or somewhere in that part of the country... no wheels or drivetrain. I don't know if it ever sold or not.

Nick

When searching up Evans Autorailers on Google Images, I came across this image that shows Arcade & Attica #109. Could this railbus possibly be the same one that was preserved at Clark's Trading Post? A&A could have sold the bus to the Grasse River Railroad in the 1950's which was ultimately the company that donated or sold the strange contraption to Clark's. The only issue is the paint scheme variations between the image below and how it appeared at Clark's. One possible theory for this development is that Clark's or more likely, the Grasse River, repainted the vehicle sometime during the time they owned the car.

I'm still not really sure what happened to it or if it's still at Clark's.

- Nick