Good Find Friday features interesting vehicles we’ve found for sale while conducting market analysis or appraisal research. They are not for sale by Wolf and Mare and we have no business relationship with the sellers. We just think they’re worth learning about and sharing with our readers!

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Car enthusiasts tend to have an interest in all things mechanical — including boats, trains, heavy equipment, and aircraft. I’m certainly one of those people and while cars are my primary obsession, I’m also into trains and planes. Owning an airplane comes with a host of challenges and expenses and owning full-size railroad equipment is usually the provenance of the ultra rich enthusiast. There are ways to ride the rails without a huge expense, however, and today’s Good Find Friday vehicle, a Fairmont MT 14 Motorcar, is one of those options.

Railroad motorcars, also known as “speeders” were small self-propelled rail vehicles used by railroad maintenance crews for inspection and transportation. As railroads modernized, speeders were replaced by hi-rail vehicles — usually pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles with drop-down flanged wheels that allowed them to drive on both regular roads and railroads.

Today, vintage motorcars are owned by members of enthusiasts clubs who operate the vehicles on lightly used rail lines or tourist railroads via organized excursions. The North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA) is the biggest group in the US dedicated to helping motorcar fans to safely and legally operate their equipment and they hold numerous tours and events throughout the country. There’s something very cool about the accessibility of these vehicles relative to full-size locomotives and rail equipment, and I love that a core tenet of the community is not just preservation of the equipment, but maintaining and operating it on a regular basis. If that sounds familiar, it’s also the stated purpose of many automobile clubs.

Fairmont Railway Motors of Fairmont, Minnesota was the largest and most successful motorcar manufacturer, producing speeders for many railroads in various narrow gauges and standard gauge. Inspection cars were the smallest, weighing 600 to 1,000 pounds and carrying two to four people. Section cars could accommodate up to 6-person crews with their heavier and larger frames, but used the same engines. Gang cars were the largest, and with their 6-cylinder and even 8-cylinder engines could pull trailer cars of equipment and up to 100 track workers to job sites.

The company is now owned by Enviri Corporation as part of Harsco Rail, which provides modern railway maintenance and safety equipment.

Today’s Good Find Friday vehicle is a Fairmont MT14 Motorcar offered for sale on Facebook Marketplace out of Augusta, WV. The asking price of $11,500 includes a custom trailer.

Decorated for the Canadian Pacific and Soo Line, the motorcar is painted in a red and white livery with rail line logos on the front and sides. Exterior features include an optional section car cab top, weather curtains, horn, headlight, orange strobe light, and windshield wipers.

The overall condition appears to be pretty good, with a little wear seen here and there. Owned by a NARCOA member and used on excursions, the motor car looks like it’s in good running and operating condition. The interior is a pretty stark affair, though it looks like a pair of comfortable seats have been mounted in the front, with two additional seats in the rear for a total passenger count of four.

The type of engine installed in the motorcar isn’t noted, but it appears to have a single carburetor feeding a two-cylinder engine, perhaps air-cooled. An alternator appears to be running off the front of the engine and a dipstick was added to make transmission maintenance easier, per the ad.

Braking appears to be accomplished by hand using a lever that presses brake pads directly against the wheels. Bonus features include USB ports and a power port for device charging, and the package includes a custom trailer built to haul the speeder and facilitate loading onto the rails.

My usual sources for comparables are not really applicable to this thing. For example, Bring a Trailer hasn’t listed any speeders for sale…ever. Interestingly, they have auctioned a couple of live steam miniature locomotives and even a full-size 0-6-0 Porter switching engine.

Looking at the NARCOA website, which includesa nice classifieds page, Fairmont speeder prices run anywhere from $1,000 for projects all the way up to $11,500 for our feature motor car. Condition and specification seem to matter most, with some of the cheaper examples being open air cars or not yet compliant with NARCOA standards for operation. I’m particularly attracted to the 1942 Pere Marquette M9C Motorcar and trailer listed for $8,000 on the NARCOA site.

If I ever decide that the car thing has run its course (unlikely), I would definitely consider diving into the vintage speeder hobby. I’m sure the vehicles are more expensive than they used to be, but for the cost of a motorcycle you can travel the rails of the USA in a truly authentic way. Railroads have frequently carved their routes through some impressive scenery, though my fear of heights might make traversing tall trestles a bit nerve-wracking.

What do you think about these awesome little machines? Let me know in the comments, and have a great weekend, everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!