Looking over the feature story this month got me thinking about Edwards cars. What are everyone else's opinions of these things?

I've only ridden one to date, the Cheat Mountain Salamander car in WV. I did climb on board the car that was visiting Spencer for Rail Days, but since something tore up I didn't get to ride it. I'm really impressed by the woodwork -- these things look great inside! I wish SCRM could afford one, it'd be a great way to operate our West End one day.

I do have one complaint about the WV car -- it rode like a flatcar. I've also ridden on the Strasburg's LO&S car, and I don't recall it having such a hard ride. Do all the Edwards cars ride hard like that?

mconrad@msmgmt.com

> I do have one complaint about the WV car -- it rode like a flatcar. <

The Galveston, Tex. internal combustion streetcars
ride hard like freight cars and are mounted on freight car trucks. Could this be the Edwards answer, too?

104577.651@compuserve.com

> The Galveston, Tex. internal combustion
> streetcars
> ride hard like freight cars and are mounted
> on freight car trucks. Could this be the
> Edwards answer, too?

I think Edwards built the trucks for the Salamander -- I seem to recall they're drop-equalized, passenger-style trucks. So no, it's not the trucks. However, if they used freight SPRINGS in those trucks, that may account for the hard ride. That was my impression when I rode -- the springs were way too stiff.

SCRM opens June 5 and I ain't nowheres near ready. Plus, I'm going to be Amtraking from the 25th to the 1st. So I just can't afford the time to get back up to Spencer this weekend to compare the restored Model 10 with the new Model 20 in WV. Wish I could! Better still, I wish I could get the little thing down on *my* railroad! :o)

mconrad@msmgmt.com