Hand Car Engineering Tips
Offered by Andy Graham of the late Handcar Regatta of Santa Rosa.
Guide wheels are by far the most important part (and the least understood) part of a rail contraption. Good guide wheels will make the difference between the glory of victory and catastrophic failure. After many spend many hours on the rails figuring this stuff out and want to share what I think are the best kinds.
SPEEDER WHEELS
Speeders are small rail vehicles that were used to inspect tracks up to the 1980s. Replaced by Hi-Rail Trucks, they are used recreationally…a great hobby, if you can afford it anyway. They use small steel train-like wheels that are hard to find. A good source for used wheels is Rail Speeders. Anyone can place a wanted ad for free.
GUIDE WHEELS (Horizontal Rollerblade wheel method)
The horizontal guide-wheel system is by far the best way to secure your rig to the rails. Rollerblade, scooter (Razor), or similar-shaped polyurethane wheels work great as long as you mount them a certain way. A beefer version of the rollerblade wheel (shown) is available at McMaster-Carr.
The point where your guide wheel touches the rail is called the indexing surface. It needs to be at the most constant surface of the rail without being too close to any obstructions like rail joints, etc. Generally, the best indexing surface on a rail is on the inside of the rail head, one-half-inch down from the top.
When mounted to take advantage of this ‘sweet spot’ of the rail, the top of the guide wheel should be level with the top of the rail head.
SPRING-LOADING THE WHEEL
In a perfect world, there would be no need to do this, but because the distance between the rails varies up to 3/4 inch at times, the guide wheels really need to have some “play” in them. The best way I found to do this is to spring-load the wheels. This can be done several ways. One way is to create a simple pivot arm, allowing the wheel to flex in and out 1”.
BRAKES
Brakes can be made a number of ways. Of course, the best way is to get something pre-made, like a car disc or drum brake. Much cheaper, and equally effective is to get a disc brake made for a go-cart. Go Kart Supply is a good source.
BAND BRAKES
Another inexpensive design is the band brake. Band brakes can be made fairly easily using a metal strap wrapped around a cylinder.
You would have to make this type of brake large enough to handle the weight of your rig (or use multiples).
IMPORTANT: The band must be pulled in the opposite direction of the rotation of the drum or it will lock-up!
Guide wheels are by far the most important part (and the least understood) part of a rail contraption. Good guide wheels will make the difference between the glory of victory and catastrophic failure. After many spend many hours on the rails figuring this stuff out and want to share what I think are the best kinds.
SPEEDER WHEELS
Speeders are small rail vehicles that were used to inspect tracks up to the 1980s. Replaced by Hi-Rail Trucks, they are used recreationally…a great hobby, if you can afford it anyway. They use small steel train-like wheels that are hard to find. A good source for used wheels is Rail Speeders. Anyone can place a wanted ad for free.
GUIDE WHEELS (Horizontal Rollerblade wheel method)
The horizontal guide-wheel system is by far the best way to secure your rig to the rails. Rollerblade, scooter (Razor), or similar-shaped polyurethane wheels work great as long as you mount them a certain way. A beefer version of the rollerblade wheel (shown) is available at McMaster-Carr.
The point where your guide wheel touches the rail is called the indexing surface. It needs to be at the most constant surface of the rail without being too close to any obstructions like rail joints, etc. Generally, the best indexing surface on a rail is on the inside of the rail head, one-half-inch down from the top.
When mounted to take advantage of this ‘sweet spot’ of the rail, the top of the guide wheel should be level with the top of the rail head.
SPRING-LOADING THE WHEEL
In a perfect world, there would be no need to do this, but because the distance between the rails varies up to 3/4 inch at times, the guide wheels really need to have some “play” in them. The best way I found to do this is to spring-load the wheels. This can be done several ways. One way is to create a simple pivot arm, allowing the wheel to flex in and out 1”.
BRAKES
Brakes can be made a number of ways. Of course, the best way is to get something pre-made, like a car disc or drum brake. Much cheaper, and equally effective is to get a disc brake made for a go-cart. Go Kart Supply is a good source.
BAND BRAKES
Another inexpensive design is the band brake. Band brakes can be made fairly easily using a metal strap wrapped around a cylinder.
You would have to make this type of brake large enough to handle the weight of your rig (or use multiples).
IMPORTANT: The band must be pulled in the opposite direction of the rotation of the drum or it will lock-up!
