Photo:
© Bruce Evans
Year Built:
Unknown
Type of Equipment:
MOW Vehicle
Speeder
Track Inspection Car
Rail Car
Motor Car
Traction:
Rail Trucks
Manufacturer:
Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc.
Manufacturer Location:
Fairmont, MN
Motive Power:
Gasoline
In Service:
Coos Bay Lumber Company
Georgia-Pacific Lumber Company
Smith-Powers Logging Company
Donor:
Jim Haskins
Owner:
Roots of Motive Power
As the industrial age progressed, people utilized the new-found mechanical marvels to make their work easier. And about the time that Henry Ford was putting his Model T’s onto the streets, railroads were replacing the old hand-powered maintenance cars with motorized cars.

This car is a Model M-9 produced by Fairmont. It has a one-cylinder, two-cycle engine which gave it a distinctive “putt-putt” sound as it moved down the tracks. It was intended solely for use as a track inspection vehicle, and would generally be used by only one individual. As such, it was built light enough that this individual could remove the car from the tracks were a train coming.

The Coos Bay Lumber Company took over the Smith-Powers Logging Company in 1922. The mill continues to operate to this day, having been purchased by the Georgia-Pacific Lumber Company in 1956.

This car was restored and donated to Roots of Motive Power by Jim Haskins.