Potlatch speeders take to the rails

In 2009, Frank Fleener's wife told him to get a hobby. Little did she know her comment would lead her husband into the world of railroad motorcars.

Fleener is one of nearly 200 people licensed and insured through the North American Railcar Operators Association to operate railroad motorcars in the Pacific Northwest; the cars, which top out at about 30 mph, are more commonly known as speeders on today's rails.

"My wife told me I had to get a hobby. Ten days later, I saw 30 of these damn fools in these cars, so I figured someone was trying to tell me something," Fleener said.

The thing about the speeder hobby is nobody owns just one, he said. Fleener is the proud owner of seven speeders, but only a few are currently operational.

On Saturday, Fleener and one of his speeders will be at the Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway Depot in Potlatch offering rides as part of the 14th annual railroad motorcar tour.

The tours, which fund the depot's restoration and maintenance, gives community members the opportunity to take a 10-mile round-trip excursion through the Palouse by way of the rails. About 10 motorcars are expected to be at the event.

Rides will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for those ages 5 and older. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the depot in Potlatch.

For almost every year since 2012, Roger Farrell, of Albion, has dressed up as a conductor and interacted with visitors who come to see a glimpse of railroad history.

He brings one of his own speeders and uses it as a display for those waiting their turn for a ride on the track.

Farrell said between the 1920s and 1980s, speeders were used by railroad operators to conduct inspections on the tracks. He said in the mid-1980s, the speeders were replaced by trucks, and the railroad motorcars are primarily used today to connect groups of railroad enthusiasts.

"I have made some really great friends," Farrell said. "That is a big part of (the hobby) for me."

While he has yet to build as large of a collection as Fleener, Farrell said his favorite speeder is the first one he bought and his oldest car.

Built and put into operation in 1947 on the Great Northern Railway, which runs through Montana, the orange speeder nicknamed Li'l Odgie is the one Farrell enjoys riding the most.Getting the motorcar started requires Farrell to get out and hand crank the engine, then he must apply the perfect touch to put the motorcar into gear.

It requires more work than his speeder that was built in the early 1980s, Farrell said, but riding in the old one is far more rewarding.

Farrell said one of his favorite parts of the annual tour is getting to see parts of the county that can't be seen from the highway.

"We see a lot of deer, sometimes cougars, and herds of elk," Farrell said.

He said joining the hobby is not particularly easy, and drivers must be licensed through NARCOA to operate on the railroad. A written exam is required, and drivers must also have a mentor before they are allowed to drive alone.

Once one gets through all the hoops, there is nothing like the sound of the speeders clicking along on the railroad tracks, Farrell said.

For those who want to just ride and avoid those hoops, rides will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 for children ages 5-12 and $30 for adults. Museum docents will be on hand to answer questions, and model train layouts will be on display at the depot. Speeder rides leave on the hour.

Katie Short can be reached at (208) 883-4633, or by email to kshort@dnews.com.