MUDGE ADAMS MOTOR CAR

The pumpcar was the choice vehicle for railroad maintenance workers for 40 years.  But the effort to get the vehicle and tools to the work site would exhaust the workers severely and limit the distance they could travel to the worksite.  With the advent of the gasoline motor innovative workers would attach small engines to velocipedes and pumpcars.  In 1907 Adams Motorcar started manufacturing  a small one cylinder direct drive engine vehicle.  There was no clutch or transmission. To start the motorcar one would push it and jump on quickly jump on.  To run in reverse one would just push it backwards, the engine ran both ways.  It was common to hear a story how the person starting the car would miss jumping on and the car would take off without him.  The car weighing well under 100 lbs. was still light enough to remove from the track easily by 2 people.  Now the maintenance crews could travel further and get more work done in a single day.

TOP: Adams motorcar crew crew posing for the camera. The middle guy is the lead forman as he is the best dressed man.

RIGHT: Advertisements for the motorcars.

BOTTOM: Yakima depot with a motorcar on the right hand