Bug Out Vehicle, what kind of rig are you running?

[coop44]

Yeah, but with switching yards/etc., could you get the train to the remote area? Are there still manual ways to switch track and if so, are they not locked to prevent just anybody from manipulating them? Then what do you do with the train once you get there?

Yes. The "main" lines run by amtrack are mostly automated, the older disused ones are not. Spur lines (dead ends) are locked out leaving the through lines open.
Bolt cutters.
It is a power source, with as much as 2000 gallons of fuel. Depending on model. A diesel model would be okay, a diesel/electric would be ideal. Of course having diesel vehicles at the end of your bugout would be great too..

 

[Aero Denezol]

Without spare parts, maintenance, and fuel, all vehicles, even tanks, become useless in short order.

 

[arakboss]

Without spare parts, maintenance, and fuel, all vehicles, even tanks, become useless in short order.

there is always these:

 

[coop44]

Locomotives rarely break down. But as an alternative I have considered one of these.

HI-RAIL - RAILROAD TRUCKS - RAILIRON--USED RAILROAD EQUIPMENT FOR SALE OR LEASE

RAILIRON--USED RAILROAD EQUIPMENT FOR SALE OR LEASE's items for sale in HI-RAIL - RAILROAD TRUCKS

railiron.com

Btw, you can't be a snowflake. You have to know how to fix your stuff.

 

[nwslopoke]

Are electric vehicles better or worse for bugout? Potentially one could make their own power but they are also easier to manipulate from a central location. Though desiel can run on hamburger fat, but once all the cows have been eaten, where do you go?

I'm not a mechanic but I trust my ability to wrench over my ability whack the side of a TV, which doesn't even fix anything these days.

 

[Aero Denezol]

You can retreat once or twice to a defensive position before the roads become unpassable. In a low tech scenario unescorted vehicles are highly vulnerable to ambush.

I think an important question to ask is, do you know where you are going to fall back to, and can you hold that position for any length of time.

 

[Diamondback]

If it happens I will likely make do with what I have at the time. I have always thought swiping a locomotive with a couple of freight cars would be feasible. Yes, I could operate one, grandpa showed me how, retired from southern pacific rr after 40+ years. There is so much unused remote track in this country it is ridiculous.

The rub would be keeping it fueled, with how those big prime movers have a burn rate in gallons-per-MINUTE...

 

[WWShooter]

As our nation continues to decline into poverty, BS and debt the appeal of exotics for me is going down. Said by a complete car nut. Already get enough hate for my meager red sports car. People who can't buy groceries and here I come - vrooom! Sorry, but the appeal is gone. Instead I need a average, boring car that people won't eventually want to vandalize. Better yet, a van to live in when things get really bad. (Have a work van only now)
A Lexus GX470 is on the radar, but unfortunately I'm always late to the party and prices have climbed like crazy in two years.

Were these two different posts?

 

[Diamondback]

Yes. The "main" lines run by amtrack are mostly automated, the older disused ones are not. Spur lines (dead ends) are locked out leaving the through lines open.
Bolt cutters.
It is a power source, with as much as 2000 gallons of fuel. Depending on model. A diesel model would be okay, a diesel/electric would be ideal. Of course having diesel vehicles at the end of your bugout would be great too..

There are almost no diesel-mechanicals in America, virtually the entire fleet is D/E and has been since dieselization started in the 1920s.

The exception was a handful of diesel-hydraulics (Krauss-Maffei ML4000's) imported by Southern Pacific and Rio Grande, and one steaming POS that Baldwin kludged together for NYC in 1956, but those all had absurdly short lives.

Streeting a locomotive? Even a small one like a GE 44-tonner, not even Ahnuld could muster the muscle required to work whatever steering gear you worked up.

 

[flylo]

The loco idea would work fine until they threw the 1st switch.

 

[coop44]

Now that I think about it the railroad truck seems like a good alternative. In the event of a shtf scenario it's likely most trains will be sitting idle on sidings and rip tracks. Given that, rolling down the tracks avoiding roads and traffic sounds great.

fuel consumption is direcly related to load, rail is still the cheapest way to move incredible amounts of goods across country.
Switching shouldn't be an issue, Derailment is on the top of the list of things to be avoided. No one wants to risk it. After all even if stolen a train can be recovered, eventually.

 

[Diamondback]

Now that I think about it the railroad truck seems like a good alternative. In the event of a shtf scenario it's likely most trains will be sitting idle on sidings and rip tracks. Given that, rolling down the tracks avoiding roads and traffic sounds great.

Until somebody rips the rails up for scrapmetal...

 

[coop44]

Not a good source of scrap metal when other sources are much easier to acquire. Not sure if the mangenese alloy used in rail is even used anywhere else.

 

[The Heretic]

Without spare parts, maintenance, and fuel, all vehicles, even tanks, become useless in short order.

It depends on how much you use the machines. I don't anticipate using my vehicles that much. In the past 8+ years of using my trucks, mostly on my property, I have not need to replace much of anything due to low usage. I did replace the batteries in the Dodge due to some kind of parasitic voltage leak somewhere, but if I had been diligent about disconnecting the batteries when not in use, that would not have been necessary.

So define "short order" - it depends on frequency and severity of use.

If I had a 4wd tractor or skid steer or something like that, then yeah, more severe usage. My 2 wheeled tractor had quite a bit of use for 5+ years, until this year and now needs some more maintenance (had the clutch rebuilt about 4 years ago.

Fuel is just a matter of getting a tank, filling it up, having filters and treatment for the fuel. I have the a 250+ gallon diesel tank, but I am waiting until I sell, then move, to fill it up.

 

[The Heretic]

There was a show called Monster Garage years ago. They did crazy vehicle builds/conversions. It would have been a great conversion to see them make a locomotive street legal. I wouldn't want to have to change a tire on it or pay to fill it up but it would be something to see driving down the road.

Since locomotives weigh 200+ tons, not sure that any DOT would allow something that heavy on any street/road, even with a bunch of axles. There are weight limits per axles with GVW limits too.

 

[arakboss]

Since locomotives weigh 200+ tons, not sure that any DOT would allow something that heavy on any street/road, even with a bunch of axles. There are weight limits per axles with GVW limits too.

True. I saw this huge telescoping crane truck driving down I5 the other day. It looked like it could pick up a locomotive.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Are electric vehicles better or worse for bugout?

A buddy of mine had a Prius and told me that there was a kit he was going to buy that turned it into a big 110vac generator. Said he could run it around during the day and at night park it and plug the house into it for power. It would start the engine and run when the batteries got low. I was not a Prius fan until he mentioned this. I've never looked it up to see if there really is a kit, but seems like a legit reason to have one when SHTF and the power grid drops.

 

[The Heretic]

Now that the Prius has AWD, it is an option for a daily driver

 

[RyanG90]

Maybe

 

[Diamondback]

Since locomotives weigh 200+ tons, not sure that any DOT would allow something that heavy on any street/road, even with a bunch of axles. There are weight limits per axles with GVW limits too.

Depends on the model, a small 44-ton or 70-ton (named for total weight) industrial switcher might sneak by. Even a classic EMC six-cylinder SW-series wouldn't make it... those little guys clock in at almost a hundred tons in only 45' of length.