NARCOA rail speeder car excursion through Tamaqua, Pennsylvania

Have you ever dreamed of owning your own train? Well you can if it's an old rail speeder car. I traveled to Tamaqua, Pennsylvania to watch the NARCOA excursion pull into the beautifully restored Tamaqua Railroad Station. This was my first look at these little cars in action.
The day's excursion was from Schuylkill Haven to Hazelton and back, with stops at Tamaqua in both directions. I was only able to film the morning stop as I would later be heading to Jim Thorpe to do some filming there and to meet some other friends.
I filmed this event with Alan of Revenge of the Apocalypse, so be sure to check out his video • Catching A Train And R... and his channel / akcamaro2011
NARCOA: narcoa.org

[@dennis78382]

All of a sudden, I am interested in rail speeders. I don't know why they look like fun.🎉

[@JamieMakin]

LOL! That's because they look awesome - like little go-karts for the rails!

[@marilynscull4585]

So cool. I think my favorite one was the purple one. I love purple

[@JamieMakin]

The purple one really stood out to me as well! I got talking to the woman riding in it for a while too after I stopped filming. They had to do a lot of bodywork to that one after it was damaged in transport when they first bought it. It looked great in person though, very cool!

[@AdventuringArthur]

What a wonderful rail car show. This was phenomenal. Thank you soooo much.

[@JamieMakin]

Glad you enjoyed it, Art! Even though I've been around railroads my whole life, this was still a novel experience for me.

[@egparis18]

I sincerely hope you get yourself a speeder car one day. Never say never. My favourite was the Chessie too. Thank you for sharing and for your clear, interesting commentary too. It was a real pleasure to watch with no intrusive music or headache-inducing jump cutting or other irritating 'effects'; just content. Great.

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much! I can definitely see being able to get a speeder one of these days. Might be a few years, but it's something I'm looking into. And thanks for the kind words about how I edit my videos. I try to bring a more authentic feel to mine without all that flashy stuff, because I find a lot of that annoying too. Thanks for the feedback!

[@egparis18]

@@JamieMakin My pleasure.

[@karenmiller804]

Oh how cool those are

[@pearlesme8561]

This is beyond cool! I’m so glad you got to go! So much fun. 🌟

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Pearl! It was really special seeing these! 😀

[@gusshadleythelunaticfromar7125]

Hey Jamie, This Is Just Way Too Much Fun.

[@JamieMakin]

I agree Guss! I want one so badly!

[@dennis78382]

Hello Jamie. This came up in my recommended feed so I am back for a Rewatch friend.🎉

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks so much, Dennis! For some reason this video has more views than any other on my channel.

[@nps7542]

Μπράβο! σε όλους που έλαβαν μέρος σε αυτήν όμορφη εκδρομή. Στην Ελλάδα δεν επιτρέπουν (ο κρατικός οργανισμός των τρένων) να αποφορτιζόμαστε με αυτόν τον τρόπο.

[@JamieMakin]

Translation by Google - "Well done! to everyone who took part in this beautiful excursion. In Greece they do not allow (the state train organization) to discharge ourselves in this way."

[@JamieMakin]

Thank you! Nice to hear from someone overseas!

[@wayneakins7850]

Thank you for showing the speeder from the Missouri Pacific rr

[@JamieMakin]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@outandaboutsciencewithmr.g]

How awesome and fun!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[@JamieMakin]

Glad you enjoyed it, you're welcome!

[@samanthab1923]

Years ago, 25 when we moved to PA we got used to seeing some cool train cars & engines living next to a tourist line. But one Sunday these little buggies appeared zipping along. And there were so many! We had never seen anything like it. 🚂

[@JamieMakin]

I bet that was fun living along a tourist rail line! I've always had a fantasy of living along the tracks, but would prefer a regional or tourist railroad. A busy Class 1 would probably be a bit much rumbling through the backyard every night lol. That's awesome that you got to see the speeders. They are a delight!

[@dennis78382]

Howdy Jamie! Rewatching Amigo!

[@JamieMakin]

Hey there Dennis!

[@cprailspeeders4863]

Great job. I am the little yellow one near the end. They are great fun and the people we run with as a well as all the people that come out to see us are unbelievable. Never Say Never.

[@JamieMakin]

That's awesome! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I got to talk to a few of the drivers and the spectators, and it definitely seemed like a fantastic group. Enjoy your little speeder, and perhaps someday I'll be out riding along with all of you. 👍

[@davidlynnprepperprincipal3540]

Wonderful content Jaime! Really cool railroad parade! You made my evening viewing this one. Thank you 🙏🏼👍🏼

[@JamieMakin]

So glad you enjoyed it, David! I had a great time being out there to watch them and check them out.

[@lesaanderson2525]

Nice job Jamie 👏thanks for sharing this

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, Lesa, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

[@flynnstone3580]

It would be nice to be going down the track and seeing a nice spot, stop, take the car off the track and camp out there for a day and night. Some look like they're big enough you could set up for two people to sleep in one. You could put a roof rack on top. There should be an easy way made to get them on and off the track. If they had a small turntable every two miles, you could pull off to your camp site.

[@JamieMakin]

That would be a lot of fun if it was allowed by the railroads!

[@michaelgreen4838]

Well done!!

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks Michael!

[@rvlivingwiththegeezer7791]

I had no idea people can do this. Thanks Jamie!

[@JamieMakin]

You're welcome, Calvin! Might be a fun way for you and Blanca to explore the country.

[@Hellcatgranny_]

Interesting video! I had no idea these existed! I certainly enjoyed viewing these fun vehicles! 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks, sunflower! 🌻 I never knew about them either until last fall when I saw someone else's video of them going through Nesquehoning. So I kept looking for an opportunity to go see them. And now that I've done that I'm aching to have one, lol! They look like a lot of fun! 😎

[@Hellcatgranny_]

@@JamieMakin it does s look like fun! 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

[@eddielane9569]

Awesome !

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks!

[@SimplyExploVenturing]

I love those speeders that PRR at the end that look like a GG1 was cool as well as the all black and the purple one

[@JamieMakin]

I though of a GG1 as soon as I saw that last one too. Neat seeing the different paint schemes that people put on them.

[@sajadwoodwork]

Nice one

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks!

[@samanthab1923]

Right? His kids would love it 🚂

[@samanthab1923]

Alan I mean, owning a speeder

[@JamieMakin]

Heck yeah! They'd totally love it!

[@coalcrackerchris]

You are in my hometown!!! Sadly, i had to work that day or id be there. Love to get a hand car and join this club. Great video.(Check out the museum next time youre in Tamaqua).

[@JamieMakin]

I was thinking of you when we were up there. It was a fairly last minute decision to go, and I had some friends to meet in Jim Thorpe afterwards. Would like to get back up there soon to see more of the town, check out the museum, eat at the station restaurant, and check out your backyard train if you're around. Busy month of May for me, but maybe June or July. Hope you're doing well! It would be fun if you were able to get a hand car someday.

[@garyholt4445]

I would love to be involved with a group of enthusiasts like this however I live in Australia. The cars in Australia are called rail service cars. There are some abandoned lines however when a line is closed here the lines are ripped up and the rail corridor turned into rail trails for hikers, cyclists, and horse riders.

[@JamieMakin]

Nice to hear from you, Gary! I have a few other viewers from Australia including one who has a rail line across the street from her house. That would be awesome if you could find a way to get involved with enthusiasts there. We've also got "rail trails" as we call them, and quite a few in my area parallel rail lines that are still active. That makes for a fun way to enjoy two hobbies at once.

[@ThrashDawg]

I could see Alan owning one of them as another channel car 😄

[@JamieMakin]

I could totally see that too!

[@leah890]

Awe sweet. You need one😁

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks! Do you think Santa would bring me one if I'm good this year? 🎅🏻😄

[@leah890]

@@JamieMakin 😅I always get a rock so you have to do better than me😅

[@JamieMakin]

I always get coal and Santa makes me go out and pick my own lump of it! Luckily that's easy to do around here! 🤣

[@mattwaggs007]

Wow. That is close to home.

[@JamieMakin]

I believe they do that run once a year. I caught them in Lehigh Gorge instead of Tamaqua on this year's run though.

[@mattwaggs007]

I will have to make a trip home. I grew up in the Lehigh Valley.

[@DelmaHole]

Hi friend i'm here again. Great sharing. Big like 👍🏻 Stay safe!. See you aroundp

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks for watching!

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

Wow, this is awesome! I've never seen anything like it. It looks like something out of an amusement park. Oh what fun it would be to take a ride in one. I noted the little boy at the beginning of the "parade" balancing on the back of a bench with his camera held up to capture it. How fast can they go? They also remind me of covered golf carts. LOL Love the video.

[@JamieMakin]

They look like a ton of fun to me too! There's some places you can go to ride in them, that's something I'm hoping to do someday. I'm not sure about top speed, but I'm sure they can hit at least 30 to 40 mph. Probably wouldn't want to go much faster than that in one lol! Believe it or not, the scenic gorge train I often ride hits the mid-30 mph range during part of the ride, and for some reason that feels crazy fast to me even in the big passenger cars.

[@davidlynnprepperprincipal3540]

Never say never! 👍🏼

[@JamieMakin]

Indeed! The wheels are already turning in my head lol! Won't be soon, but since getting a Casita is out of the picture for a while perhaps this could be a new goal. 🤔

[@davidlynnprepperprincipal3540]

@@JamieMakin Truthfully, you would get considerable use from the Casita and some periodic pleasure from the rail car.

[@JamieMakin]

@@davidlynnprepperprincipal3540 that is very true. They only run locally once or twice a year, so you'd have to travel to other events to get enough use out of it. At that point you're better off with a Class B or Class C that can tow the speeder ... and that is waaaaaaay out of my budget lol! Well, so is the Casita now too, but I'm hoping in a few years there will be a glut of used RV's on the market and then I'll get back to considering something.

[@YOOPDLRC]

Wow 👍😍👍 ~~~!!!!!!

[@daniellafferety4025]

Interesting

[@JamieMakin]

Thanks!

[@wayneakins7850]

I watched speeders on the Missouri Pacific rr line in crowley county Colorado in the 60s and 70s

[@JamieMakin]

That's awesome that you got to see them back then, good memories for sure!

[@jacob45415]

Just saw these things in martinsburg Pennsylvania some had rlly loud horns

[@JamieMakin]

Very cool that you got to see them! Yeah, some can be pretty loud!

[@jacob45415]

@@JamieMakin for sure !

[@troo_story]

rlly? Oh well done. 🙄

[@rosscoe9119]

Hi Jamie Excellent - what an experience. At 6:22 there is speeder 907 - do you know how i can contact him as I would like to ask him a question about his speeder?

[@JamieMakin]

Hi Roscoe, glad you enjoyed the video! I don't know any of the speeder folks personally, but you could try to track him down though NARCOA. They seem to be a pretty tight-knit group. narcoa.org

[@trenchantsometimes5149]

How many cars were there?

[@JamieMakin]

I counted 44 of them, plus the 3 Hi-Railers.

[@netfangwei]

Is this track still in use? The signal appeared to be operational.

[@JamieMakin]

Yes, the track is used daily by Reading, Blue Mountain and Northern freight trains, and they frequently run weekend passenger excursions through there. The station itself has been turned into a restaurant, but I think some of the passenger runs do stop there.

[@samanthab1923]

I feel like DD Explorer took the train from Tamaqua to the Hometown trestle.

[@duggydugg3937]

absurd.. delightful

[@ULRailfan]

9:12 you can see me lol

[@JamieMakin]

I'll have to have a look!

[@bighueso2428]

Horseless Carriage

[@bobgrob4]

its not really about where you're going. It's just about going. Chinese say it better to travel than to arrive.

[@JamieMakin]

I totally agree! I always say, "it's about the journey, not the destination." And I do enjoy my journeys!

[@dennis78382]

Honestly I'm kind of disappointed you didn't knock someone to the ground and steal a ride.

[@JamieMakin]

As they were pulling out I noticed a few empty seats and realized I had missed an opportunity! 🤣

[@dennis78382]

@@JamieMakin 🥺

[@DanielUnger-gn9ct]

Ma dream is ta buy the train stations here in Blackshear Georgia Waycross Georgia Jesup Georgia n the train depot in Bethlehem Pennsylvania fix up the rails along the 3 train stations and the rails and the depot in Bethlehem Pennsylvania n have ma own steam and diesel passenger train rail service ta all 4 of them that's ma dream n own a couple of steam and diesel engines have have a fleet of passenger train cars for each steam and diesel engines A know it will never happen but A can dream about it 😊😊😊😊

[@JamieMakin]

It's always great to dream! And that sounds like a cool dream to have!

[@DanielUnger-gn9ct]

@JamieMakin thank you n yes it is A been dreaming about that for years sad part is A don't have enough money ta make ma dream come true n if A did by the time everything is done fixed and running A would be 6 feet under by then A may not look it but A just turned 52 January 1st hopefully in another life A can have ma dream come true