Railroad Speeders

I believe Sheffield was the first to sell velocipedes powered by a gasoline engine in the mid 1890's... yes, that early!  I happen to have an engine from a Buda velocipede that dates to around 1909 or shortly after.  Buda was selling fairly large 4 wheel speeders by the late teens, although I don't remember seeing any advertised with a windshield or roof.  To be fair, the appearance of the early speeders would be quite a bit different than Lionel's unit.  That one looks like a more recent model to me; something that might have been seen on the rails from the 1960's up until the railroads generally quit using them in the 1980's - 90's.  However, I would think that you could get away with it anytime in the postwar era, as the general outline was similar, just differing in details.

Hope that is somewhat helpful...

Thanks WindupGuy, My layout is Mid 50's to mid 60's. So I think I will get one.