The featured image for this short article is the petrol motor-car used by the Croydon District Engineer of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, in connection with his duties. The car is block-signalled in the same way as a train and carries head code discs. It was included in The Railway Magazine of July 1906. [1]

This article includes an eclectic mix of inspection vehicles, united only by the fact that they are petrol-powered.

First, some Ford Model T inspection cars:

And some other examples:

In the United States and Canada, in the 20th century, a particular form of inspection vehicle known often as a ‘Speeder’ was developed. “A speeder (also known as a section car, railway motor car, putt-putt, track-maintenance car, crew car, jigger, trike, quad, trolley, inspection car, or draisine) is a small railcar formerly used around the world by track inspectors and work crews to move quickly to and from work sites. Although slow compared to a train or car, it is called speeder because it is faster than a human-powered vehicle such as a handcar. Motorized inspection cars date back to at least 1896, when it was reported that the U.S. Daimler Motor Company created a gasoline-powered rail inspection car capable of 15 mph (24 km/h).” [10][11]

Much later, in the 1990s, many speeders were replaced by pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles with additional flanged wheels that could be lowered for travelling on rails, called “road–rail vehicles” or “hi-rails” for “highway-railroad”. Speeders are collected by hobbyists, who refurbish them for excursions organized by the North American Railcar Operators Association in the U.S. and Canada and the Australian Society of Section Car Operators, Inc. in Australia.

Three typical ‘Speeders’ are shown below: [10][12]

The three cars above are:

• A Fairmont Speeder; [12]
• A speeder in use in Santa Cruz, California; [10] and
• A former Chessie System (a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway) speeder at the Linden Railroad Museum, Linden, Indiana. [10]

References

1. The Railway Magazine, London, July 1906, p24.
2. Floyd Clymer; Henry’s Wonderful Model T 1908-1927, Bonanza Books, 1955, via https://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2015/08/model-t-inspection-car.html?m=1, accessed on 11th October 2024.
3. https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/fyrhjulig-dressin-med-tvacylindrig-luftkyld-bensinmotor-magnetelekrisk-tandning-7bb43c, accessed on 11th October 2024.
4. https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?attachments/418249778_10221002059915743_3696497498370196004_n-jpg.278504, accessed on 11th October 2024.
5. https://atom.drisa.co.za/index.php/railcar-built-by-allday-onions-8-hp, accessed on 11th October 2024.
6. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1907-el-dorado-springs-railway-1913047085, accessed on 11th October 2024
7. https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/84718.html?1237133514, accessed on 17th October 2024.
8. https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/steampunkvehicles, accessed on 17th October  2024.
9. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alldays_&_Onions, accessed on 17th October 2024.
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_speeder, accessed on 21st October 2024.
11. The Automotor and Horseless Carriage Journal, December 1896, p103.
12. https://the-north-valley-shortline.fandom.com/wiki/Derek?file=Fairmontspeeder.jpg, accessed on 21st October 2024.