Folks,

Have just finished reading the Historic structure Report on the V&T 22, the last remaining windsplitter McKeen motor car.

It is a great read. As the document goes into considerable detail about the builder and into the career of McKeen himself. The Nevada State Railroad Museum will have some job restoring the car to operation, but they have here a good outline on what needs to be done and with the purchase of another much modified McKeen car they have a lot of the hardware they need. Tm

ted_miles@NPS.gov

Where is a copy of this available. Is it/will it be on line?

Thanks,
Tom

I recall being in Anchorage Alaska in 74-75 and there was a massive scrap yard on the Main Street.

I recall seing what I thought was a hulk of a McKean Car there. The scrap yard was on the right hand side of the street as you headed inland from the (I think) Capt.Cook Hotel or whatever the best hotel in town was called at that time.

What did I see?



v-scarpitti@worldnet.att.net

I believe that the last time was in Carson City (a couple of months ago) there were copies of the restoration proposal on the shelf in the store. I believe that you can contact the store through the museum's website.

The body work was well along. The rear truck is coming from the one-time CGW Blue-Bird power car that later was shortened into a switcher. Some other parts are also coming from that car body.

I heard, that they had hoped to acquire the body up in Alaska for additional parts. But, it was obtained for preservation by others.

The biggest problem will be creating a power truck. Most likely they will not try building a new old style McKeen engine; but will adapt some other engine to do the job.

The restoration reports done for the NSRM collection are a very good set of docuemnts to study. I would hope that many more organizations would do the research and planning that these documents represent.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net

Having not seen this document, can someone explain how they plan to replicate the complicated and unique engine and running gear of this car?

bobyar2001@yahoo.com

> Hi Bob,

The plans exist for the power truck and the study suggests doing exactly that. The antique car people have built engines from scratch and I am sure the State Museum can too, all it takes is a lot of $$$.

Yes, I got my copy of the book off the shelf of the Nevada State Railroad Museum bookstore. No plans to put it on line that I know about.

Ted

ted_miles@NPS.gov

> The plans exist for the power truck and the
> study suggests doing exactly that.

This would be a fun thing to see replicated, unless you were the guy who had to keep it running. As I recall from magazine articles, the original McKeen powerplants were gas engines mounted transversely on the power truck frame, and geared to one axle of the truck. The neat thing about these engines was that they were built like a boat steam engine, on stanchions and without a crankcase. The rods were grease-lubricated, like a steam engine, which meant stopping the engine to turn down the grease cups, and restarting, probably with an air or explosive starter or crank. I recently came across a 1920's photo of a blown-up UP locomotive in a scrap yard, in a cheap photo book on train wrecks called, I think, "Train Wrecks." In the background of the photo was a gondola full of McKeen car power trucks. You never know what you'll see in photo backgrounds.

Aarne H. Frobom
The Steam Railroading Institute
The Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, Inc.
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, MI 48867
(spiritual home of Ann Arbor R.R. McKeen cars)

froboma@mdot.state.mi.us

I recall reading in "A Short Haul to the Bay" that there was an abandoned McKeen power truck to the side of the Peacedale R.I. engine house. It was removed from a windsplitter because it had the engine fixed to the truck and could not negotiate the line's sharp curves, sort of like using a Bachman HO double-truck trolley on a real trolley layout. I was there to visit in the summer of 1980 while the railroad was defunct, but could not spot it in the brush. It may have been there then, but who knows if it survived till now. It was interesting to see the Narragansett Pier RR at that time - sort of like looking at a Victorian era shortline held in a time warp. You could have bought the line for $200,000 including two critters, a small mogul, a private car and caboose.

> This would be a fun thing to see replicated,
> unless you were the guy who had to keep it
> running. As I recall from magazine articles,
> the original McKeen powerplants were gas
> engines mounted transversely on the power
> truck frame, and geared to one axle of the
> truck.

Another interesting facet is that the engines were bidirectional. There was no reverse gear; to back up, you had to stop the motor and restart it in the opposite direction. The crankshaft was connected to the driving axle with a Morse chain.
By all accounts, they were indeed maintenance headaches.

Trivia question: What did Genoa, IL have in common with Genoa, NY?

> Having not seen this document, can someone
> explain how they plan to replicate the
> complicated and unique engine and running
> gear of this car?

Bob,

What was said last autumn when NSRM held its annual Nevada RR history symposium was that they were not going to try to replicate the engine. As I recall, they will fabricate the truck frame so that the car will look right from the outside. However, due to costs and time the restoration shop supervisor said that they would look for a suitable modern engine to put on top of the truck.

When NSRM was given the McKeen body and the Hull Scott body the gift had some strings attached. One was that they had to restore the car within a specific period of time.

From the sounds of it, the Hull Scott will be restored some time in the future. This body was once a car on the Nevada Copper Belt and before that on the Salt Lake & Utah (before that line electrified). Before that restoration, I think the shop will undertake a 19th century equipment project.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net