Motorcars

     Despite the fact that very few crew members showed up yesterday (10/11/14), there was still activity happening at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad.  The crew that was present yesterday spent time working on the three standard gauge motorcars that the railroad owns.  Now the question in probably most peoples mind is; what is standard gauge and what is a motorcar?  Well, standard gauge, also known as Stephenson gauge, International gauge or normal gauge, is used by about 60% of the railway lines in the world.  The gauge or distance between the rails is four feet, eight and a half-inches.  The Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad runs on two foot gauge which is obviously smaller than standard gauge which explains why the B&W is considered a narrow gauge railroad.
     So, if the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad is a narrow gauge railroad then why do they own these three motorcars which are standard gauge?  Motorcars, that are better known as speeders, were used on the railroad for track inspection and maintenance before the invention of the high-railer (a vehicle that has railroad wheels attached to the frame to allow it to travel on the rails when the wheels are lowered).  Like everything else at the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad, the motorcars are owned for the sole purpose of entertainment.  Although the railroad does not have a place on their property for a motorcar to run on, the crew sometimes receives permission to run their motorcars on a railroad line with standard gauge track.
     The crew was working on the motorcars yesterday because today (10/12/14), they were able to run them on about 100 yards of track.  Even though they spent so much time preparing for the trip, one of the motorcars did not start but that was possibly due to the freezing weather that was encountered this morning.  Other than that, the ride that the crew took today was considered a huge success.

One of the Bucksgahuda and Western Railroad's motorcars:

Picture taken by Scott Bauer