Marine rail-portage owner

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Charlie

New Member
Hi out there,
I just stumbled upon this web site and thought what the heck, I'll join up and see if anyone out there can help me out. I own and operate a marine narrow guage rail portage in Minnesota. Basically I transport boats from one body of water to another via narrow guage rail. I am having a hard time finding wheels for the cart that I use to transport the boats on. Specifically I'm looking for Fairmont 16"x5/16"x4 1/2" wheels in like new condition. If anyone out there has any info that could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Thanks for the info Bruce. Boy, they don't exactly give the new ones away do they? Any ideas on finding good used wheels? I am able to run my wheels until a noticeable crack develops along the flange radius before I have to change them. I've read that the rules of NARCOA are fairly rigid and the wheels must be changed long before they are that worn. I'm sure that in my situation I could get extra miles out of those wheels and the cost to purchase them would be significantly lower than new ones. I have placed a couple of ads on other web sites. Hopefully someone out there will have some ideas on where to find a source for the used wheels. Thanks again for the info.
Charlie
 
Welcome to the forum. I did not know such portage railroads existed. Do you have a website or photos of your railroad that you could post up?
 
Use old-style truck wheels,* maybe with with some of the outside removed to narrow it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Hi-Rail_Jeep.jpg

Do a Google image search for

jeep train

and

rail jeep

And you will see lots of variations.

Bruce

*lock ring, flat center section
lockring.jpg
 
Thanks for the interest in the portage Bill. First off I'm not much of a computer guy so it takes me a while to get some of these new-fangled things figured out! I am going to try to attach a few photos to this thread. If this doesn't work out you can find the portage on google earth, at least that's what I'm told. The place is called Loon Falls Portage. It is located on the MN - Ontario border at the far West end of Loon Lake. Also if you google Loon Falls Portage some pictures are available that other folks have taken. I don't have a website for the portage at this time. Thanks, Charlie.

IMG_0745.jpg IMG_6720.jpg

IMG_7203.jpg IMG_6855.jpg
 
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By god Bill, I may be moving into the 21st century! Looks like the pictures made it through. So I figured I'd send a few more before I forget how to do it!

IMG_7305.jpg IMG_7784.jpg

IMG_9704.jpg IMG_9715.jpg
 
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Thanks Bruce. I will check out your suggestions. I have had some success in locating a handful of used wheels. I need to change my request for wheels to include wheels that are Non-compliant with NARCOA specs, as I can run the wheels until a visible crack develops along the flange. Thanks again for your input and let me know if you come across any wheels. Charlie.
 




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