The club, known as Motorcars Operators West, consists of members from all over the U.S. and beyond, all of whom share an affinity and fondness for rail vehicles known as ‘speeders.’ Speeders are small, boxy, gas-powered vehicles previously used to travel rail lines by railroad maintenance crews.
The club was established in the 1990s with a primary mission of promoting safe hobby activity, Hope said.
“We all love the rails for one reason or another,” she said. “We’re only allowed on (railroad) property if we can show we can operate safely.”
Hope noted that, historically, the first maintenance vehicles were the old, manually operated carts propelled by a seesaw type mechanism. Small, open-bodied cars powered by single-cylinder, two-stroke engines were the next generation (nicknamed ‘putt putts’ after the sound of the engine).
The speeders were eventually replaced by rigs known as ‘hi-rails,’ which are essentially passenger pick-up trucks set up to drive on railroad tracks. These vehicles allowed contractors to travel at highway speeds to reach a maintenance scene.
Prior to their arrival in Lakeview, the group had just completed three days in British Columbia on the Okanagan railroad, and four days on the Kootenai line. In La Grande, the club traveled the Wallowa Lake rail line, and then traveled on to Fruitland, Idaho, where two days were spent on the Cascade line. The Lakeview-to-Alturas run was their last leg of their northwest tour for this year.
The group’s fleet consisted of examples ranging from older cars powered by two-stroke engines to newer, industrial-engine units featuring multi-gear transmissions.
In cooperation with Modoc Northern Railroad, the group traveled to Alturas for a lunch break before heading back to Lakeview. Following this journey, the club traveled to Train Mountain in Chiloquin.
Tom Ferrier, a retired U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare specialist of 30 years, and San Diego, Calif. resident, owns an MT14 car that was built in 1984 and sold to Union Pacific. Farrier’s interest in speeders was piqued after seeing a television program spotlighting the vehicles.
“The people are all different,” he said. “The only real common thread is everyone likes the railroad.”
Chris Baldo, a sawmill owner-operator from Willits, Calif., helped coordinate lodging and activities for the group this year after serving as the lead tour coordinator for the past 12 years. He brought his early 1950s Fairmont speeder, powered by a two-cylinder two-stroke engine.
Baldo expressed his interest in seeing railroads that were utilized by the timber industry in bygone years.

...for the complete story, refer to this week's Lake County Examiner.