Not Speedy Gonzales, but Close!!

The picture on the front of this post card shows a group of Canadian National Railways (CN) "Speeders" lined up to await disposition in the early 1990s at CN's Transcona Shops in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.

The history of the "Speeder" below was taken from my favourite author and webiste about anything train-related.

https://www.american-rails.com/speeders.html By Adam Burns "The classic railroad speeders dates back to around 1893 when the Sheffield Velocipede Company developed a primitive gasoline engine motor car (the company, founded by George Sheffield, had originally been in the business of building velocipedes). Just a few years after Sheffield developed its early motor car the company was purchased by Fairbanks-Morse (FM), most famous for its line of diesel locomotives years later. Of all the manufacturers which built speeders over the years unquestionably the Fairmont Gas Engine and Railway Motor Car Company was the most successful and well-known. For 80 years between 1911 and 1991 Fairmont built speeders, around 73,000 of them and even today these they can be seen in use, particularly by hobbyists which prefer them over other models. Fairmont's early railroad speeders were similar to FM's in that they offered little in the way of amenities. However, almost all of Fairmont's models featured cabs to keep crews out of the elements and their easy maintenance made them favorites among both crews and railroads. Early Fairmont models featured a standard two-stroke gas engine, fixed transmission (although later models corrected this by featuring a belt drive). Interestingly, the design was so basic that to put it in reverse one simply had to adjust the on-board sparkplug (although their simplicity endeared them to crews, some of which preferred the older models over newer ones). Because crews enjoyed the older designs Fairmont continued to produce them, such as the M-9 model, which was one of the oldest designs the company manufactured for years. Later models featured a four-stroke engine and varied in size to accommodate needed crew space, some of which held anywhere between 4 to 6 individuals. One of Fairmont's unique models was the FT, which featured an air-cooled (instead of the traditional water-cooled models), opposed-piston engine and featured amenities like heat, cushioned seats and a totally enclosed cab. Overall, Fairmont's models did not change much over the years and stayed mostly the same save for their crew size and amenities with most models able to cruise down the tracks between 25 and 40 mph. When railroad speeders became a stable of a railroad's maintenance department they were ideal for crews to inspect track while rolling along or transport them to a desired location (and in some cases spot for a trailing train if the line was poorly maintained or prone to rock/mudslides). However, as highways, roads, and automobiles became better constructed railroads now had the versatility to use utility trucks and cars (which could carry much more equipment and tools than a speeder) to not only drive to a location but also come equipped with rail wheels (known as Hyrails) to inspect the line."

The post card was published through the efforts of a team. The photographer was Morgan B. Turney; the distributor was Railfan Canada (their post card number 20) and the publisher was North Kildonan Publications. They are still around. Here is their website: http://www.cdnrwymod.com/body.htm