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Bernard Sampson suggested I start a new topic showing photographs of homemade US rail racing cars built in the late 1950s through the early 1960s.
Some 20+ years ago I became fascinated with the subject and began collecting all the period books, magazines and information I could find. That gave me a reference of all the names, cities and even some of the addresses of all the early rail racers. As this was long before the functional internet as we know it today, I started the search using directory assistance. Back then for 35 cents, you were given a maximum of 3 numbers per area, per call. Since some of the names were quite common, there might have been 10 John Doe's living in even a small city. Needless to say I accumulated hundreds of dollars worth of directory assistance calls and hours of research, where today the same searches would take only a few minutes.
Even 20 years ago, I was surprised how many of the early racers had passed away, and of the remaining, how many had long ago disposed of their rail cars. But almost everyone I spoke with was more than happy to talk about the past. Almost everyone... After years of searching I believe I have located all of the surviving cars built by racers who raced in clubs, or were connected with the clubs, that were mentioned in publications of the period. Sadly, the numbers are quite small.
I'm starting with my favorite car, the Mercedes 300sl built in early 1958 by Harry Hedges of the famed Kalamazoo Club. Mr. Hedges unfortunately passed away in the early 2000's. This is the car that appeared in "Table Top Car Racing" by Richard Dempewolff. The building of the body is pictured on pages 116 & 117. The March 1959 issue of "Model Maker" magazine has an article written by Mr. Hedges (pgs. 118-120) on the building of the car. The car is in original condition except the motor, a Pittman DC60, was removed for use in another car. Mr. Hedges was an engineer, and kept quite detailed records. Notice the original pinion gear is wired to the chassis for safe keeping.
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Some 20+ years ago I became fascinated with the subject and began collecting all the period books, magazines and information I could find. That gave me a reference of all the names, cities and even some of the addresses of all the early rail racers. As this was long before the functional internet as we know it today, I started the search using directory assistance. Back then for 35 cents, you were given a maximum of 3 numbers per area, per call. Since some of the names were quite common, there might have been 10 John Doe's living in even a small city. Needless to say I accumulated hundreds of dollars worth of directory assistance calls and hours of research, where today the same searches would take only a few minutes.
Even 20 years ago, I was surprised how many of the early racers had passed away, and of the remaining, how many had long ago disposed of their rail cars. But almost everyone I spoke with was more than happy to talk about the past. Almost everyone... After years of searching I believe I have located all of the surviving cars built by racers who raced in clubs, or were connected with the clubs, that were mentioned in publications of the period. Sadly, the numbers are quite small.
I'm starting with my favorite car, the Mercedes 300sl built in early 1958 by Harry Hedges of the famed Kalamazoo Club. Mr. Hedges unfortunately passed away in the early 2000's. This is the car that appeared in "Table Top Car Racing" by Richard Dempewolff. The building of the body is pictured on pages 116 & 117. The March 1959 issue of "Model Maker" magazine has an article written by Mr. Hedges (pgs. 118-120) on the building of the car. The car is in original condition except the motor, a Pittman DC60, was removed for use in another car. Mr. Hedges was an engineer, and kept quite detailed records. Notice the original pinion gear is wired to the chassis for safe keeping.
