David EilersJune 18, 2021

1951 Article Introducing the Hy-Rail Wagon

On November 18, 1951, the Times (Shreveport, LA) welcomed the new Hy-Rail Jeep Wagon to the Kansas City Souther-Louisiana and Arkansas railroad. The article provides quite a few details on the vehicle and how it operates.

1951-11-18-the-times-shreveport-la-hyrail-jeep-wagon3-lores

1951-11-18-the-times-shreveport-la-hyrail-jeep-wagon2-lores

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As this September 26, 1952, article in the Courier Journal (Louisville, KY) points out, by the autumn of 1952 there were 35 Hy-Rail jeeps operating on 21 railroads throughout the US.

1952-09-26-courier-journal-louisville-ky-lores

4 Comments

CraigInPAJune 18, 2021 at 1:29 PM
Fascinating that tires have to be 55psi on the rail, but must be deflated to 30psi for road use. Today, such a change would be easy with a central tire inflator (as seem on Hummer H1's), but back then it would take a laborious hand bleed of each tire, followed by a trip to a location with a compressor (presumably close to the tracks) to re-fill them.
1. David EilersJune 18, 2021 at 2:53 PM
  Craig: That's what I enjoy about these articles; they sometimes include details we never would have considered.
Dan B.June 18, 2021 at 4:58 PM
Willys America has a really nice Hy-Rail in their Willys Museum in Cazadero, California.
MikeJune 20, 2021 at 12:48 AM
Here's a lick to a strange HY-RAIL came across on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4158986940824193&set=gm.2918633658392811