Railroad Hand Car Great Fun For Kids

Railroad Hand Car Great Fun For Kids FARM HOME Toys/Games 18-5-21 Illinois tinkerer Tom Belusko has a lot of fun putting together one-of-a-kind "toys" for himself and his kids. One of the most unusual is a copy of old-time railroad hand cars that he made using four 16-in. bicycle wheels and other bike parts. The pump handle is made out of water pipe. It "teeter totters" up and down on a triangular frame. A pipe goes down through floor of the hand car to a bicycle crank that chain-drives the wheels. "I put the name Buda Foundry on the side because that's the company that originally made real hand cars. It's steered by turning a handle at center that's connected to a pipe that goes down through the center mast. "We spent only about $20 on wood and $16 on paint. Everything else came from junkyards, including the trailer running lights on the front and rear," says Tom. He also made a powered tandem bike with a 22cc gas motor that direct drives the front wheel. "I used a junkyard 3-speed for the front bike and a girl's bike for the rear half. The bike is 9 1/2 ft. long and runs at speeds up to 12 mph. We have two of these bike motors built in 1979 but they're no longer on the market. The other one is on a Western Flyer single bike that runs up to 15 mph." Belusko also built an "Easy Rider" type chopped BMX bike with a sidecar. He did it by adding 11 in. to the front fork and a "raked" front end. He also added 11 in. to the center frame and 8 in. to the rear fork. The pedals were moved up about 15 in. and hi-rise bars were added. "The wheel base is the same as on my Harley Sportster motorcycle," he notes. The sidecar goes on and off in about 15 min. and is made of electrical conduit and 1/4-in. plywood. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Belusko, 2029 Lee Ave., Granite City, ill_ 62040 (nh 6 1 R 451-096R) _

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