N.J.PULL - PART 1
This 10 passenger narrow gauge coach has cast 24"(?) wheels.
A similar railcar showing the Fairmont engine's lagged cylinder and gear drive. All production Fairmont engined motor cars (from 1920 or so) used belt drive and did not have lagged cylinders nor radiators. The chain on the end of the crankshaft is for the hand crank starter. The engine like all later Fairmont engines was a 2-cycle. Vehicle direction was changed by reversing the engines rotation. This is accomplished by turning off the ignition and advancing the spark past T.D.C. As the engine slowed to a stop the ignition was turning on causing the engine to run backwards (kind of a controlled "backfire"). This method of changing direction was used due to the need for a simple, cheap, dependable and low (almost no) maintenance drive train. The state of mechanical design led to this solution and Fairmont used the same basic design for 70 years. They would use it today if a new Fairmont engined moter car was made. It was difficult but not impossible to design a 4-cycle engine to perform a similar direction change.
Note the acetylene headlamp and klaxton horn. The acetylene generator is above the crank handle. The radiator on this and some of the other cars shown is a steel box with a number of tubes run through it to increase the cooling area.With magneto ignition, no batteries were required.
This car is close to the designs that became standard for all motor cars. Most Fairmont motor cars with outside axle bearings were built for narrow gauge trade. All of the cars shown have roofs. These were not commonly found on "work" motor cars until the late 1950s. The deluxe sprung seats also indicate these vehicles were made for inspection use by the railroads management or for paying passengers. Workers did not get such luxuries and continued pumping their way to work for anothe 10 to 25 years before work motor cars became common.
The coach above and its chassis below are defiantly well sprung.
Standard construction during this era had a bolted and riveted lower chassis supporting a wooden framed upper chassis, on leaf springs. The rear draw bar is for pulling small trailers, not for pulling standard railway cars.
The drive train must be fairly heavy to counterbalance the extreme rear overhang.
Note the all wood brake shoes on the car below. This was common practice through out the history of motor cars. Originally, they were used because the were cheap and worked pretty good. Later, the actual rubbing surface was an iron shoe mounted to a wood backing. this construction was used to cope with higher speeds and the need to keep the car insulated, left to right rail. This was required to keep motor cars from activating train signal and train detection systems.
The rail coach below is a model 515 M2A, built in 1924. The photo was taken in July, a few miles west of Fairmont Minnesota on the Milwaukee Road. The temperature in this car must have been in the low 100s! You will notice there is no one in the car when the isinglass windows are down.
Fairmont engines of this type were not rated at over 8-13h.p. That would make this car a sluggish performer. The roof mounted destination board indicates the car was destined for urban or suburban passenger work.
Some of you may take exception to the statement that except far a very few early models, Fairmont engines did not have radiators. The honey comb like device on top of many water jackets is a steam condenser. It collected and condensed some of the water that boiled out of the water hopper. This water then drained back into the water hopper.