Rail dragster with too many wheels

[Ace-Garageguy]

Messer

[Bernard Kron]

Perhaps the best known and most succesful dual real wheel car was the Eddie Hill "Double Dragon" from '60. It may not look like it, because it's so elegantly compact, but it actually has a separate driveine for each engine and there are two wheels on each side. Simple drag racer's math: 2 x engines = 2 x POWER, 2 x tires = 2 x TRACTION! It worked, too. The car held numerous National records and was the first gas powered dragster to break 200 mph (202 in '61). He ran the car in competition through '62 when he switched to fuel and built a new single engined race car. Hill continued to run the Double Dragon in match race competition until he retired from drag racing in 1966. After succesfully racing motorcycles he took up top fuel drag boats until 1985 when he reurned to cars and national prominence in Top Fuel drag racing, finally retiring at the end of 1999!

The again there's this one...

[Jairus]

Many things have been tried in the quest for increased traction. Never say never to a new or unusual idea. Some actually work.

And that one didn't.

The change in pitch during acceleration unloaded the forward axle resulting in lots of smoke but no traction. The builder said that adding a pivot between the axles (bogey set up like some diesel trucks have) might have worked better.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Jairus

[comp1839]

cool model. but, seriously? there's someone who believe's any of this could possibly work? someone pass the crack pipe, please. wow,...........

[Tim Pentecost]

YIKES!!!!! Were you at Woodstock? Which acid did you take...the brown or the blue????

TimP

[GoatGuy]

That one with the engine hanging out the front...........is that Photoshop? What a wild looking rail. Along with all the others. Keep going Ray.

[Bernard Kron]

YIKES!!!!! Were you at Woodstock? Which acid did you take...the brown or the blue????

That one with the engine hanging out the front...........is that Photoshop? What a wild looking rail. ...

The end of the post-WWII recovery, the pre-digital age when machinists ruled the roost. It's why so many of us model that era.

[Scott Colmer]

Bill - That's the dragster I remembered. Thanks for posting it. My bad. Thought it was a MT idea.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Scott Colmer

[Scott Colmer]

Just saw the see-saw rail - for lack of a better name. That is just wild.

Someone used a similar design on the salt. It was called the Rhinoceros. It did not end well. Killed the driver.

Scott

[Daddyfink]

That is the same car, Scott, just without the body. It was built by Noel Black and it was never intended to be a dragster, but that is where they tested it. I think it hit 300+ when it killed him.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Daddyfink

[cobraman]

Well, for better or worse this thing is done. Will post photos soon.