speeder wheels

Mikechoochoo · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 6:10 pm **Posts:** 237

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I hope you don't mind but I'm looking for information on these speeder wheels.The backs and flanges appear to be forged steel, and the bolt on treads have traces of rubber on them and from the look of the flanges it would have been 5/8 inch thick. The backs have the number M32 720 on them and the symbol of an M&E with the leg of the m being the back of the e. I'm curious what they are from, if someone needed them for a restoration, well maybe?????

Bob Milhaupt steamy · **Joined:** Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:03 pm **Posts:** 65

The 8 lug bolt holes makes me think this may not be for a speeder, but instead something with some serious weight to it - like a pickup truck-class vehicle.

cjvrr · **Posted:** Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:15 am

These are speeder wheels.

These specific built wheels had a rubber tread would be applied to help with traction.

Some folks in the railroad speeder hobby like them because they run much quieter than a standard wheel. The standard wheel rings like a bell when running down the track.

But the rubber tread wheels required flange brakes on the car which have much less surface area than the standard tread brake.

These rarely become available for sale and I do not think Tamper (current owner of Fairmont) is making nay new rubber tread wheels. They do still make the standard 16" wheels.

tom moungovan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:47 am

I had an M-19AA that I put a few miles on in 5 Western states.

While laying underneath it one day when hitting the Zerk fittings, I got a good close look at the tire thickness. Turns out that the early Fairmont 16" wheels were 1/4" I believe, but replacements were a little thicker at 5/16". I got a good deal from several sources and wound up replacing all 4 along with the brake shoes. And yeah, sometimes they really sang when at speed.

As to the rubber tread, the only motorcar that I ever really noticed with them was a retired one that belonged to the Trona Ry. in CA. The electrician/hostler there thought I could get it cheap and encouraged me to inquire.

I still have the letter saying the they wanted around $670.00 for it and could not take less. This was around 1967 and I was in the USAF. That was so far out of my league back then. The Trona remained very friendly to me though and allowed me to ride whenever I showed up.