Craigslist for sale. If I had the space and the cash for it

Hmmmmmmmm..........

Hey....whatever floats your boat!

I'd like to put that in my back lot....aaahhh but the wife would kill me

That is really cool! The M7 is a very interesting vehicle.

Now that's a train set. Lot of work there.

Yes indeed, that is.... unusual.

I've got the land for it but I can't even imagine what it would cost to ship it.

To me it looks like something that would eat up all your money and time.  

Interesting, though. 

Looks like fun . . . but

$8500 + shipping to Las Vegas + $10,000 for American Restoration to fix it + shipping to home.  Yikes!

but, still, it looks like fun!

Bob

We have enough land here but I would not want to undertake this project. Having a backyard ride on layout is no doubt cool but will undoubtedly become an expensive project as Lee has pointed out. Grading, laying track and restoration costs would be very high. The question that I have is what amusement park was this engine taken from? Regardless this is a piece of history and should really be in a museum.

No doubt about it, having an outdoor rideable railroad requires a certain amount of time and money.  A train powered by an internal combustion engine doesn't require much more maintenance than a riding lawnmower or tractor.  However, the track will need attention every year, especially as it ages.  To a certain degree, that can be minimized depending on choice of ties, weed barrier and ballasting when it is built, but it will need work from time to time no matter what - just like the real thing.

Now, live steam... that takes the required time and money to another level altogether.   

That is a very interesting train!  Reminds me of a 12" gauge "F" unit that some friends of mine have - it was built around a drivetrain out of a Crosley car.  It's always neat to see how different rideable trains are built and powered.

Are you kidding me? He with the best toys wins! If my yard would only hold a circle that big! Pool- sha-mool! I would want that train! 1400ft=700ftx2(?) I wonder about the track radius. I wonder if federal regulations allow it without 1400ft of paperwork?. It would make a very cool float/cruise shell considering the rare chassis might be kind of valuable in the military market. A swap to a modern drive & frame?

 I thought it looked light for something like a M7 Priest w/armor & howitzer. I think its an M7 Military snow tractor right? 

Either way very cool.

Very Interesting, I would like to see the final result someday.

be an interesting garden layout/money pit.

If you laid the track in a circle, 1400/pi=446' diameter, or 223' radius.  It looks like it would have no trouble negotiating a much tighter curve, so if you laid out an oval with 100' radius curves at the end (200' diameter) you could have 386' tangents.  Of course, you don't have to use all the track on the mainline... you would probably want to have some sidings...

As far as Government regulations go, a privately owned train for your own use (not hauling the general public) on your land probably won't require much, if any, paperwork.  It would be subject to local planning & zoning laws, covenants & restrictions or HOA approval, should your land be under any such thing.  Where I live, there isn't any P&Z in the country, just inside city limits.  Years back, we lived in town, and I did get P&Z approval for a railroad track in my yard... it wasn't a big problem.  A commercial operation, or sometimes even a non-commercial operation which is hauling the general public, will probably bring the railroad into the realm of an amusement ride which will be subject regulation and inspection requirements, mainly from a state level.

Our current private railroad - in our non-zoned county - required no paperwork.  Affordable liability insurance, however, is another matter...

Railroads 24" and under (and there are other criteria for that) are considered exempt from FRA regulations. 

However, since we hauled the public, we had visits by: State track inspector, state amusement ride inspector (although I'll hold my own comments on this) and a few others. Occasionally they would "drop in" throughout the season or we would have them out to check on some new track work, etc or, for example, inspect the new locomotive before it went into service (#378) earlier this year. 

As for insurance, I don't recall 100% but we were covered under the county insurance since they owned the property and operation. Details on that I don't recall. 

Our locomotives had a minimum 50' turning radius - and they probably could go a bit tighter if the had to but for obvious reasons, our track wasn't that tight in most areas. 

Of course, I don't represent anyone or any operation. Just my personal experiences and opinions....

SJC, I have no doubt that a commercial operation requires a ton of maintenance.  That appears to be a very nice, well maintained railroad, by the way! 

I was speaking more to a private operation that does not operate on a daily basis and does not haul the general public.  A train that operates just a few fun laps every week or so does not experience the wear and tear that a train running constantly during business hours for the better part of the year.  It is apples and oranges... your trains will require constant maintenance due to nearly constant operation (at least during the operating season).  My hat is off to you... I know that is a lot of work.

Track, however, will require a certain level of maintenance even with little or no operation.  It will require even more maintenance with constant operation!  Freezing and thawing slowly messes up the alignment and surface over time, ties rot, weeds start to grow in the ballast, the sub-roadbed settles.  It is one reason I downsized my track this year... I decided I would rather spend more time in the shop working on steam locomotives and less time on the railroad doing track maintenance.

It is all enjoyable, even if it is a lot of work...

I sure don't have the space to run it on my little property.

Maybe I could turn it into a really cool, backyard meat smoker.

Wish bubba would've left it alone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_Snow_Tractor

THAT I could have some fun with!

Well I tried calling and got a answering machine.  I did not leave a message, I think I will try tomorrow.  I have no plans for something like this, I just would like to know the history behind it.  I do agree on cost of restoring, if at least put the body on a newer update chassis, maybe something that you could run on streets like parades and such, you would not need the rails.  You could offer him scrap price just to take it of his hands.  Nick

Spence,

Just move it Like they moved 4014 out of the parking lot....Bugs Bunny style.  Just bribe some friends with a few beers to keep pulling up sections of track you've just rolled over, run up and lay them back down in front of the train.....repeat...a few thousand times until you're home! 

Reminds me of the 'future' train that was in a commercial a few years back.

If I had tons of cash....I'd bite!!!

Nick, Thanks for taking the time to call about the train - I'm curious about its history also, and I look forward to hearing about what you can find out about it.

SJC, thank you for the additional pictures!  Very nice railroad & trains.

My own railroad is 12" gauge.  At this time I have 2 "diesels" on the railroad and two live steam locomotives.  Both of the diesels are homemade and powered by Briggs & Stratton gas engines.  Steamer #103 is an antique of unknown heritage that I bought and restored quite a few years ago - it is currently out of service for boiler work.  Steamer #205 is an Ottaway that was built in 1946... it would actually be an ancestor to the Chance CP Huntingtons on your railroad.  Ottaway was bought out by Chance (in '47 I believe), who continued to build the 12" gauge locomotives under the Ottaway name.  They were eventually discontinued, and Chance manufactured a couple of different versions of gas engine powered "diesels" in various gauges until switching to the 24" gauge CP Huntington locomotives.

But getting back to #205, I bought it as a basket case and restored it to operating condition:

Before:

After:

I currently have a 1907 International steamer in the shop that I am restoring for a friend, and after that I will be restoring an 1899 Class C Cagney steamer for myself (after tending to #103's boiler work).  I do enjoy the antique 12" gauge steam locomotives!

With all that said, I hope that it will help inspire someone to adopt the train in the Craig's List ad.  That would be a good candidate for restoration, and getting the rail is a huge plus!

James,   I will keep you updated on any info I find out about the M7.  I just do not want to bother the guy to much or lead him on thinking he has a buyer.  I showed my wife the add and she said H$#@ NO, not another train hobby. I need to stick to one scale. 

   Nice work on the 205. It looks like it was a fun project and a joy to operate.  Nick