And now for a slightly different BOV..........

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by chelloveck, Oct 28, 2012.


  1. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Here is a bug out vehicle that has some potential! Just watch out for the light at the end of the tunnel.



    a mountain bike with a 2 stroke motor propulsion unit could probably haul a light cart full of gear.

    Following is a link to a .pdf file download called "Pedal Power" which is quite fascinating in itself, but devotes a section of it to Rail Bikes.

    http://www.truthistreason.net/downloads/Pedal-Power.pdf
     
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  2. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    In many areas of the US, riding the rails provide an easier way of traveling long distances and a rail-bike is easier than pedaling on the rail bed. Plus, as it offers a different approach to getting out of urban areas it does have extra merit to some. It's disadvantages are it's portage weight and it is a special purpose, single use "tool."
     
  3. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Chelly thanks, I fish a river with no roads but there is an abandoned rail down it, this will open up much more water in a day for me to fish.
     
  4. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    All I could think while watching it was how awesome it would be if you hooked that contraption to a motorcycle and hopped onto the rail.
     
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  5. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Interesting. This has potential for us hunters as well. Quiet entry from an unexplored entry point, almost no scent trail, (less with an electric motor.) rails to support the gear, and the deer on the way out. Tracks have been engineered for smooth easy grades, and gentle curves, with speeds generally in the 40+ MPH range. Rather limited in where it can be used though. But, if you have a rail spur running through a hunting property, this would be a good entry and exit.
    Side note: let it pull a couple of light weight flat cars with solar panel roofs, and batteries, and hub motors, and you could have a very long, quiet, free ride.
     
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  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    You just have to make SURE, that Mr UP/BNSF doesn't have a Train coming at you at 50 MPH, from around the next bend.... Also Rail Lines are Private Property, and you risk Trespassing Charges, if you happen to run into a Section Gang out working on the track.... ....
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  7. oldawg

    oldawg Monkey+++

    Yep I can tell you from personal experience that railroads are REALLY selfish about who uses their tracks.
     
  8. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Thank you all for replying thoughtfully to my post. Seeing the article about rail bikes in the pedal power .pdf tickled my fancy, and I kind of submitted the post semi tongue in cheek. I will reply to each of the contributors to the post.


    Agreed: Particularly about its limitations. Its practicality will depend on individual circumstances. However for some, with appropriate route planning, cacheing a number of these frankenengineered devices along a Bug out route may be a work around.

    Abandoned railways and, in a SHTF - bug out environment, tourism enterprise spur lines and steam enthusiast historical lines are good prospects too. Route recon is important and blind curves and other stretches of track with low visibility need be taken cautiously. Abandoned tracks may not be properly maintained so there may be missing sections, particularly where locals have scavenged ironmongery for fencing and other purposes. in a TEOTWAWKI or PAW situation, non running railways may be scavenged for blacksmithing raw materials (lines, fencing, fishplates and spikes) the hardwood rail ties might have been scavenged for fuel, fenceposts and as materials for building shacks et al).....and certainly a washed out bridge or damaged culvert is going to ruin one's day, if it's not noticed soon enough to stop in time.

    Running a "hog" on it may not be practical, but a smaller motorcycle with a narrow enough tyre profile might be doable....such as a small trail bike or a kid's mini bike. A motorised mountain bike would be doable.....

    Good thoughts all around.

    You are quite right about the possible practical and legal issues of using an operational line. In a TEOTWAWKI environment, the legalities of using a rail line may be outweighed by the imperatives of survival....but be aware that even if regular scheduled passenger and freight survices may no longer run, it is highly likely that the military and FEMA will take an interest in securing rail transport infrastructure for their own use, therefore bridges, tunnels, rail junctions and switching infrastructure may be guarded.

    It should also be noted that although a rail line may be abandoned or not in current use, the land will still be owned by someone, and it is therefore still a matter of trespass if one uses it without proper approval or authority. The chances are though that the risk of discovery or litigation may be somewhat lower than an operational line, and of course in a PAW / TEOTWAWKI situation, the owners / management will have more pressing concerns than pursuing interlopers through the courts, if courts are actually functioning.

    No doubt....they will have liability concerns, and a collision with a pedal powered tourist will ruin many people's day.

    I partly posted this thread as an encouragement for people to think creatively and consider the costs / benefits and practicalities of using this method of transport as part of their bug out plan. I have not been disapppointed.

    In a nation that is obsessed with automobile transport, and may be largely limited by the tunnel vision that such an obsession encourages, the creative thinkers and early adopters of alternative modes of transport may have a temporary advantage and a brief window of opportunity to exploit it when SHTF. Soon enough people will copy the leaders and those escape routes may possibly become as congested as the roads will inevitably become; and even some of the smarter of the dimwitted gremlins may latch on to the idea that railways may be a lucrative hunting ground for ambushing and hunting refugees.
    The other thing to consider is that rail bridges and culverts may be useful alternatives to use where road bridges may be destroyed or guarded by looters or local residents wanting to turn back refugees.
     
  9. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    From weapons to rail-bikes, special purpose usually means narrow focused applications.

    For hunting or cross country travel; the advantages are obvious. Raise the horsepower, gain more speed cover more miles in less time. As RR tracks are easier than cross country; potentially it would also be a productive place for ambushing travelers. So with shtf, YMMV.
     
  10. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Then put one of the solar carriages in front and one behind. Each with a deterant mounted on a pivot mount in the center of each platform. I once asked a cop, (there are plenty in the family, why cops can use laser sights, but civilians can not, does it really aid in aiming? "No. It is more about intimidation. That red dot says you are already dead, I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. No one keeps fighting, once that red dot settles on them." Deterants matter more than force sometimes. Even a fake gun will stop someone in their tracks, once that red dot settles. The show of force, matters more than the force itself. (Assuming a true SHTF)
     
  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I thought for sure I was gonna get "Rick-Rolled" with the video.
     
  12. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Thanks Chel. BT, that "50 mph" train may be more like 100 if it is an Amtrak. Was moving a house across tracks near Charlotte, NC and almost got hit by one. Had to "clean my shorts" afterwards--lol.
     
  13. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Well I am glad that you lived to tell the tale....I'd miss fencing with you in the F&R forum. I am always pretty tentative about crossing level crossings....even ones with flashing lights and boom gates. It only takes one failure of technology to ruin one's day for an eternity.
     
  14. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Likewise Chel--only I get serious at times--lol. Those boom gates came down on the house as we were crossing. One swung parallel with the highway but the other across the tracks. The train hit it and splattered the thing for hundreds of feet. Have "dodged" several "close calls" with trains but that one almost got us. The driver got out and just sat down beside the tractor on the pavement. The rear escorts said he missed us by only inches. Oh yes, I sat down with him while my legs quit jerking. Patrol escort came over white as a sheet.
     
  15. Pistolero

    Pistolero Monkey++

    wow, nice idea for a way to bug out but you have to really be careful. Just left the RR as an Inspector the past several years. I had many collisions between trains, cars, trucks and walkers that I had to sort out over the years. really not a good idea unless you have miles of unobstructed vision both forward and back. Most main line (in the US) is class 4 or 5 which means there may be trains bearing down on you at over 70 mph. And believe me, they can appear at any time. My primary method of inspection was by one ton truck with hydrolic bogy wheels that would come down to hold me on the tracks. I am not even adressing the legality of it just that it is very very dangerous.
     
  16. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Agreed....the method has its limitations, however, in a shtf scenario, normal freight and passenger services may not be operating, though military railway operations cannot be discounted. It is a matter of intel and thorough route recon to determine the feasibility of the option in particular circumstances.
     
  17. Pistolero

    Pistolero Monkey++

    Hear is a tip most of you probably dont know. Most all major cities have RR main lines running through or around them. most of the main lines around the cities also have dirt roads next to the tracks to facilitate inspection or repair by off rail equipment. it can be a good way to get out of town just by running the dirt roads next to the RR lines. In Minneapolis, St. Paul. the road is called the BN Highway. if the city ever has the highways blocked in an emergency you can hit the BN highway and can be through both cities in about 40 minutes. Most RR Cops that might come across tresspassers will just tell you to leave. During his presidency Clinton used part of the BN highway one year when he had to get to his stump location during rush hour.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  18. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Very good thing to know Pistolero--thanks. Interstates are mostly the same way in that they usually roughly parallel main highways which usually have smaller ones alongside them at a distance.
    In my preps I do have a set(two axles) of RR wheels about 10" in diameter. Picked them up at a junk yard for $20 about twenty years ago--just in case---LOL.
     
  19. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I just picked up a motorized wheelchair yesterday. It is an older design like what "Ironside" drove. These thing have large DC electric motors designed for long term use and abuse. Came complete with joystick controls and motorized leg lifts and power recline.
    The wife may want to use it, (she has medical issues) but if not, I may be building a rail buggy.:)
     
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  20. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    I sometimes hunt deer alongside RR tracks. Always strikes me is the very long field of fire they offer. One would be a target way before they knew it--just like a deer.
     
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