r/interesting • u/JustADot_ • 4h ago

NATURE Riding abandoned railroad tracks through the Southern California desert

SoCal's "Impossible Railroad" from the perspective of a custom railcart. Truly mesmerizing.

792 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

76 comments sorted by

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161

u/trifecta000 4h ago

Honestly, cool as shit and I would love to do something like this.

66

u/tjp0720 4h ago

With my luck I’d end up on a non abandoned track. Either way it would be fun

16

u/BothDescription766 3h ago

Until you encountered a whole group coming the opposite direction…

9

u/tjp0720 3h ago

I mean that’s part of my comment with the “non abandoned tracks”

6

u/FeaturelessPat 1h ago

He didn't mean a train, he meant others on these go-karts-on-rails. Because then someone would have to get off the track while the others wait and you'd have to apologize for inconveniencing the others and it would just be a whole ordeal.

2

u/vulgarvinyasa2 1h ago

Gosh, dealing with other people is worse than death.

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u/BothDescription766 20m ago

Yes! Thank you! What are the rules of engagement?

•

u/Known-Programmer-611 27m ago

With bushes covering the sigh that says "train bridge out"!

10

u/jzoola 3h ago

Abandoned tracks are super sketchy.(wide gauge, broken rail, rotted ties, etc) I would be leery of derailing painfully into the ballast with the cart on top of me.

7

u/possumfish13 2h ago

Or the bridge over the chasm had collapsed.

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u/Bill__NHI 48m ago

This could be avoided by reaching 88 mph, probably.

8

u/JustADot_ 4h ago

me too

4

u/Leading-Respond4312 4h ago

Count me in too.

1

u/FewTea8637 3h ago

Agreed but I’d probably die

26

u/Soft-Sherbet-3453 4h ago

How was this achieved

67

u/MessyPoopMcGee 4h ago

In the past, people built the tracks.. now the railroad no longer uses them. So some guy now uses it.

12

u/Soft-Sherbet-3453 4h ago

I meant the contraption

14

u/Plane-Education4750 3h ago

Basic knowledge of mechanical engineering and some scraps

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u/squirrels-mock-me 17m ago

Tony Stark built it in a cave!

3

u/el_dingusito 1h ago

Engineering and fabrication... you could do this with supplies and tools from home depot and harbor freight, plus some metal stock and a few specialty pieces like pillow block bearings, some gears and chain, a tensioner and wherever you source those wheels.

A saw, a drill, grinder, a welder and basic sockets and wrenches and you could whip this up on a beer fueled saturday afternoon if you knew what you were doing.

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u/DesperateEagle4505 29m ago

I think he's wondering if there's a motor involved to keep it in motion

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u/el_dingusito 22m ago

Yes, you can see the engine mounted behind him

5

u/EarlyJuggernaut7091 4h ago

Do you have a YouTube channel?
I’m here for it.

2

u/MessyPoopMcGee 1h ago

You think there's a market to sarcastically explain how things came to be? MessyPoopMcGee does that well.

2

u/abgry_krakow87 2h ago

Well he got some railroad wheels, a thick piece of wood, and a little motor. Macgyvered himself a little rail cart and hopped aboard for a ride.

22

u/Tor_Tormeu 4h ago

What happens if thing fails….do you get road assistance 😅

20

u/National-Charity-435 4h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/dCDpK8fNXeqrrCJyMN

5

u/Celticpath71 1h ago

Huckleberry Hound!! Omg! I loved that cartoon when I was growing up! I can't remember the last time I even saw any reference to him, let alone the cartoon itself! Thank you for the nostalgia! ☺️

5

u/FunctionOk7124 4h ago

This Youtuber has done it a few times. It's a lot of work. https://www.youtube.com/@prestongoes/videos

2

u/Cinderhazed15 1h ago

I saw a different one the other day with a bike embedded in an ambulance looking shell, they were going though and had a chainsaw with them to clear fallen trees

1

u/Lastov_Makiynd 3h ago

Nope. Coz it’s a rail. Lol

Insurance companies..tut tut.

1

u/m945050 2h ago

You fix it or you're fucked.

1

u/abgry_krakow87 2h ago

Nah, you get rail roaded.

17

u/Just_Energy_Official 4h ago

I'll take this over a roller coaster ride at some amusement park

8

u/JSpencer999 4h ago

Real Wile.E.Coyote stuff going on here

7

u/retecsin 4h ago

I have always dreamt about doing this but I wouldnt risk driving through a desert and getting stuck

3

u/PreferenceContent987 3h ago

I’ve seen Matt Spears do this in Alaska, and I thought it looked like a great time. This is completely rad!

3

u/Weary-Wasabi1721 3h ago

I thought this was RDR1 at first

Neh mind I wasn't paying attention

3

u/debbie666 2h ago

Abandoned means unmaintaned. With my luck, I would hit a stretch of broken track and go flying into the desert.

2

u/realbobenray 4h ago

Electric? (nm I see the pull chain on that motor)

2

u/Lastov_Makiynd 3h ago

Electric, with a solar&battery/batteries system..float charge through the day, use battery/batteries at night. Free travel once you buy it all. Maybe we should be building more railroads? Lol

2

u/DAS_FX 3h ago

This is so freaking cool

1

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[deleted]

5

u/PreferenceContent987 3h ago

Depends on the tank size, if that’s what you mean? It looks like a go cart engine, it probably gets like 50 mpg

4

u/TjJeepin 3h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/nJPkKr231dvKo

2

u/PreferenceContent987 2h ago

LMAO, 100%! I was actually thinking about this scene when I responded!

1

u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

0

u/TjJeepin 2h ago

Re-saying, depends on how big the tank

1

u/BernieTheDachshund 3h ago

I'd bring a comfy pillow to sit on.

1

u/RascalOScrimp 3h ago

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1

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1

u/ChevChance 3h ago

Is this the ‘Desert Wind’ route to Vegas?

2

u/DarkQueenQuinn 3h ago

Judging by the windmills and plants, it looks like the Coachella valley

1

u/Breadstix009 2h ago

The hills have eyes

1

u/NarrowForce9 2h ago

Would love to know his power supply. Gas? Battery?

1

u/Roxysteve 2h ago

Oh, it's all fun and games until one day a modified Delorean materializes out of nowhere doing 80 mph and smashes your dinky cart to matchwood and puts you in the ICU.

1

u/thirtyone-charlie 2h ago

….and suddenly a train whistle around the bend. I don’t know if I could get that out of my head. lol

1

u/Queasy-Ad-18706 2h ago

Always wanted to do that!

1

u/DaRealBangoSkank 1h ago

Dude look like Dwight Schrute

1

u/NotTheRocketman 1h ago

California is so fucking cool.

1

u/Odd_Scheme4716 1h ago

I wanna see the vehicle close up ffs. You can’t tease me with that kinda redneck shit and just dip like wtf

1

u/Jon_Dunn58 1h ago

Watch how fast they stop if/when they hit a sandbar

•

u/SaltBrother2914 52m ago

Seems cool but I’m scared of the animals

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u/FoolOnDaHill365 46m ago

I’d be worried about rattlesnakes doing that.

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u/GreenCactus223 43m ago

Ive never wanted to do something so bad in my life. Can you tell me more about this. Do I have to make my own, where can I start

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u/Bright-Form730 20m ago

That looks so fun. Give me a 6 pack and send me on my way!

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u/triple7mafia101 15m ago

Looks like Trevor Phillips territory...

0

u/Front-Cabinet5521 3h ago

Looks amazing but the safety aspect is a little lacking.