Car Restored by Les King
In the mid 1990's, when the rail speeder hobby was beginning to become organized, the late Les King of Ohio obtained and restored Car 007. The doors were missing and had to be recreated by Les. Due to the design of the drive train, Les was not able to mount a turntable in the car. This is somewhat problematic since the car weighs about 1,400 pounds.
Previous Owners
In March 1996, the restoration was complete and the car was purchased by Peter Loscalzo of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Peter was a retired FBI agent and ran the car on several excursions. He replaced the clutch and the original engine with a new Briggs and Stratton Vanguard Twin 18 horse power engine in 1996. He also added the distinctive black stripping and several air vents to the cab along with other improvements. The careful maintenance records Peter kept reflect his dedication to the hobby.
Current Owners
The next owner ran the car infrequently. When Dan Page purchased the car in October 2006, the engine had only 70 hours on it. The car was kept in Western New York, at Harvey's home in Jamestown NY. This location was convenient to many New England and Mid West NARCOA rail excursions. Dan and his dad Harvey enjoyed quality time taking the car on weekend runs for almost ten years. There are several active NARCOA chapters in the region, including Ohio Valley Railcars, Northeast Railcar Association, Northern Central Railcar Association, Volunteer Railroaders Association, and Central Pennsylvania Excursions, that sponsor runs they have been on. After Harvey passed in 2018, Dan moved the car to his home in Huntington Beach California.
Improvements
Dan has made many improvements to the car over the years.
Before the 2007 season, we completely refurbished the trailer, sandblasting it down to bare metal and painting. We also put on new tires and wheel bearings. After the 2007 season, we added teardrop windows on each side of the windshield to improve our visibility at crossings. We also added a brass bell.
For 2009, we changed over from conventional to LED taillights that also flash when the brakes are applied for added safety. We also changed the revolving light on top to a LED strobe for the same reason. For 2010, we have made major improvements in the ignition system and added an alternator to provide more power. In 2011, we finally had a turntable specially designed and installed. All of work done up to 2011 was done by a family friend, Mark Peterson in Jamestown. These changes increased our enjoyment of rail excursions.
The next major work on the speeder was done in the summer of 2021. Following a long run in Oregon where 007 suffered engine problems, Dan's friend Steve Paluso offered to look at 007 in depth at his shop in San Jose. Dan accepted this kind offer as Steve is well known in the hobby for his work repairing and restoring railcars.
Major Improvements After 15 Years for 007
The visit to Steve Paulso's shop turned into a major update for 007. To celebrate fifteen years of owning 007, Dan decided to clear his long standing 'wish list' for 007 by giving it to Steve. The listed included:
- Replacement of the fuel system from the fuel tank to the carburetor
- Replacement of the exhaust system with a muffler/spark arrestor
- Add a fuel sensor and gauge
- Add lighting inside the car
- Update trailer with LED lights
- Install GPS based speedometer-odometer-compass
- Completely replace electrical system with new wired and swap automobile fuses out with circuit breakers
- Add two banks of aircraft style rocker switches to control accessories
- Add new windshield wiper control to allow for one switch control of wipers at intermittment-low-high and park
- Install larger air compressor and tank
- Add air whistle
- Add master battery disconnect
- Replace tie down straps with chains on rear of car
- Add antenna and power wires to permanently install radio
- Install new turntable control system to comply with new NARCOA rules
- Install wireless backup camera
- Relocate tow bar to outside of the car
