First test of our solar powered railway trolley

[Channellock12]

I suppose so. I still think you got a great product.

[MrLOWSTYLEZ]

NZTA is a bunch of wankers lol, now you have 3 ft guage over there what are you gonna do in the states averthing here is 4ft 8 1/2in exept small short lines that are going to be hard to find

[brush1701]

awesome guys well done 

[Channellock12]

Man that is awesome. Maybe the railroad will want one for there track gang to do their daily track inspections. I would really consider asking the railroad if they wanted one. A track inspection would take no time as fast as that thing is.

[GlovedFury]

@Channellock12 Awkward Moment when another train comes.

[dwkcamman611]

WICKED!!!

[Chur1NZ]

Is the old Rotorua Branch?

[GayBoyRunning]

That's one fast trolley

[deadwoodgulch]

Railtrack in the UK should take some lessons from these blokes on how to keep stuff on the rails.

[webdoc]

damn that looks fun.

[telorinodelhoyoo]

that railway car is very fast net time use a helmet

[ROCKSTARCRANE]

Jesus, how fast does that thing go?

[mr2gti]

As mentioned, it appears "Battery Powered" but technically, how simple/cost effective would this be to have 3-4 trailing flat "carriages" covered in Solar Panels?

But this looks a blast - except for the width of the wheels, i'd certainly think twice about adding an inch to cover bad lines!

[geoffmackley]

@mr2gti Hi we are doing exactly that, making trailers covered in soar panels, and yes, we have made wider wheels ! and yes it is a blast, so much so that the NZTA (transport liciencing authority) said I am operating an "unlicenced train" dangerously.... will getting a licence make it "safer" makes it hard in NZ to pioneer new technology to the point we are taking it offshore where many rail outfits have offered us use of their tracks.. cheers Geoff

[mr2gti]

@geoffmackley This is epic! Hope more videos appear soon! :)

[ThePostal67]

@geoffmackley

You don't understand! Orville and Wilbur Wright got their license at the K-Mart down the street ~~ And I am sure that the Montgolfier brothers were duly licensed too.

Glad to see what you have done and can't wait to see more.. Would suggest a helmet though, protect your thought processer!

[Jontenn]

how does one not shit their pants due to fear of falling off?

[JQuabbe]

Hate to break it to you, but it's not solar powered; it's battery powered. You may regenerate the batteries with solar power, but that does not make it solar powered.

[auntagony]

Where's this line, Geoff?? Looks interesting!

[FastJohnnyNardGard]

This makes me want to be a future-hobo.

[Kudospop]

Remember children. Wear your helmets.

[Ontir]

I think the panels are behind the seats. The flat bit. They were also going UP-hill for part of it. They talk about the speed & use of electricity on the slope.

[jgonzz10028]

Specs..?

[bartoncnd]

You're going downhill, so who the fuck cares?!

[sonotleet]

How long 'til they add this in minecraft?

[jeaumiew]

new zealand is gorgeous

[lazarra101]

Where's the solar panels?

[DrOneOneOne]

I don't see a single solar panel or solar source anywhere in that video.

[EMMETTXD]

Top speed?

[Haroldandbob]

but will it blend?

[superdude2510]

I like trains.

[NuroXS]

why do we need cars?

[steaknkibble]

It's not solar powered if it runs off a battery, even if the batteries are charged by solar energy.

[TheFlyingStoner]

@steaknkibble You are mentally retarded 

[steaknkibble]

@TheFlyingStoner Tell me stoner, did you see any solar panels?

[Tammc09]

@steaknkibble Were you dropped on your head as a child?

[steaknkibble]

@Tammc09 Charge the batteries with nuclear power and it suddenly a nuclear powered railway trolley? Charge them with wind and wave power and what? it becomes a boat?

[somerandomutewb]

no breaks? potentially fucked.

[Chrustay177]

what if....... there was a rock.

[fowad27]

Where are the solar panels? Was the entire surface a solar panel?

[QuartinusNicomedes]

What's the range on this thing?

[RTardEntertainment]

Solar power charges batteries.

[genericdefect]

I notice you mainly rely on the wheel flange to keep the cart on the track. At least, it looks very flat in the video. Ordinarily, most wheelsets rely on a 1/20 pitch. The wheelset naturally approaches alignment with a gentle rocking motion, and very rarely relies on the flanges to keep the wheels on the track, whether in traits or curves. Maybe this could help you gain a little speed and efficiency.

[mbzastava1]

WHERE ARE THE SOLAR PANELS!?!?!

as far as i can tell this is just batery powered

[F1yin6M0nk]

@mbzastava1 Behind the seats...

[soupkin]

if this works so well why can't we have solar powered cars?

[Dan4157]

@soupkin because oil corporations suppress any progress of course! 

[zethkall]

It cuts off at the end. What does it do!?

[iexusuxei]

Where is the solar?

[SoupwithSeafood]

y'know if people had actually looked at either the video or the description they'd have figured out that the rails were abandoned.

[VoidOnTuesday]

Suddenly a wild train appears.... SMUSH!

[Mu5afir86]

U said solar powered on the title, all I saw was batteries. Where was the solar panel located?

[planetfrog2]

Is this the rimutaka incline?

[danisageeza]

Good job lads!

[532956148]

how do you deal with the bug problem?

[TheLifeDegenerator]

It's clearly battery powered, not solar powered. So if you loaded the batteries from a regular power outlet, would it be coal powered?

[956miggz]

can you ride at night?

[dmarkes42]

can it go over 88 mph ?

[asopusa1029]

it can be already seen in the philippines...try riding our train here and you can see some skates on the railroad.

[TheWelly888]

Neat job! How fast can it go?

[deadwoodgulch]

Great stuff,but you wouldnt get far in the UK without the "elf n safety" Taliban asking "have you done a risk assessment" & "wheres your hard hat,goggles,boots,Hi Viz jacket,gloves etc".Good luck & thanks for a good video.

[sims1ification]

I read the tags again um, yes I think it is the Rotorua line. If only circumstances allowed mass production of solar electric vehicles. Surely the technology is advanced enough by now - especially with oil running out and the pollution and all...

[sims1ification]

Cool. I typed in "Ngongotaha" on the YouTube Search and got this. Is it on the disused Rotorua branch line?

[MadisonCale]

Did you check the tracks along the way? I'd be way too worried about rocks/debris being in the way to go THAT fast!

[nardylocks]

notch should put this in

[nicholaswright2006]

0 people...wait, what? :D

[JoelChenFa]

How much redstone did u need to mine? Also what mod and texture packs you using?

[aaronrocks87]

how does it run against creepers?

[TheDarkFalcon]

@aaronrocks87 lol

[Mike12497]

I WANT ONE.

[raminios]

if it was 4 Dr Kleiners, it'd be exactly like GMod!

[aepps2]

im gonna need a bigger crafting table

[TheJoeAngry]

Take my money!

[kirbyghoul]

What do you mean "solar powered"? Aren't those car batteries?

[GeneticsFTW]

@kirbyghoul Not like you can recharge batteries with energy from the sun

[dhtroy]

No gun turrets, missile launcher, GPS guidance system, ejector seat, rocket booster or communications rack. Q - this needs some work.

J/K

Incredible job guys. This is way cool. Can we buy tickets?

[thing2liv]

Cool, Shame many abandoned railways have had their tracks lifted for the metal.

[steveonash]

AWESOME

[DKLNTV]

i want one of this

[MeOnStuff]

0:33 That's a very nice doppler effect you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it.

[douglasdtlltd]

@MeOnStuff You forgot the ssssssssssssssssssss

[easier246]

'inekler ne olsa izliyor vesselam'

[AidenJSS]

Why didn't you punch the cows?

[rsjac]

@AidenJSS Its New Zealand bro, you would never get anything done if you stopped to punch cows.

[ctskifreaks]

@AidenJSS It's not Minecraft hahahah

[Deadftw1]

Was expecting a train to come roaring through and smash their project.

[FatSongProduction]

@Deadftw1 abandoned rail lines

[Deadftw1]

@FatSongProduction Yeah I figured as much from the overgrown weeds and etc.

[CondeJorge]

Great!

[edwincoder]

Finally, Powered Minecarts that you can ride :D

[yankolvich]

reddit,

[ric0rich]

Where are the booster tracks?

[Joemussa]

you would be stupid enough to relate this to the powered rails in minecraft

[Damancoolkid3]

needs more redstone

[owen1150]

inb4 big log

[madpetrolhead]

Hallo again,

Yes I realise it was filmed in New Zealand, whereabouts is the railway line, would like to visit the area.

[atlanticsoldat]

Che GANZO!!!!

[madpetrolhead]

Hi there,

I love the video, where was it filmed, looks like a real cool place to visit.

[fku8447]

@madpetrolhead Says in the video description that it was filmed in New Zealand.

[Den7Bass]

Wow, nice! Really smooth and fast



[marquardtbre]

where's the solar part?

[marcuspinson]

i was going to build a multi car version but bassically quadruplinf the horse power you have there, with solar panels making up the roof of each car and alternators to top off the batteries that arent being used so i can switch the dying power supply with a fresh one with the flip of a swich while keeping on the move and charge the dying one

[geoffmackley]

@marcuspinson Yes I am all for massive horsepower too.. like a golf cart motor.. but we were amazed at how much grunt this thing has, its scary, we are going to build solar panels on a seperate car, we want to take it thru South America and will be nice to have an open top lol

[marcuspinson]

@geoffmackley it would be wild to be able to run one on the trans-continental railroad here in the US

[geoffmackley]

@marcuspinson Oh look, sort of stuff I dream of, I ve seen a few vids on you tube where groups of trolley, or speeder , as yuo call them, enthusiast use live track supervised by railroad personell, you wldnt get that in NZ..! an overkill of safety rules ! We will bring it to the US some time, seems lots of abandoned tracks there that allow trolleys on them...

[marcuspinson]

@geoffmackley yea if its officially abandoned that means its public property for the most part and you can run it un-supervised for as far as it will go that makes these types of things perfect for emergency/G.O.O.D/S.H.T.F. situations because the rails wont get backed up from abandoned cars lol (a friend of mine built a 4 car v8 petrol powered trolly to get out of new orleans after katrina in 3 days by scavenging a bunch of stuff from a hardware store called harbor freight)

[geoffmackley]

@marcuspinson Sounds like a dream, I wonder what the law is in NZ, I ll find out, wow this guy who built this 4 car trolley, did he actually use it to get out of New Orleans, did he take survivors with him, does he have video?, that is such a cool story for TV ?

[marcuspinson]

@geoffmackley he made it out and took his family and friends but a few miles out of town a bunch of people started shooting at them because the sound of the motor ment he had petrol and they had to grab supplies and bail, it blew up a few moments later and it was made mostly out of wood so it got compleately destroyed by the resulting fire (he had been without electricity for awile so his camera didnt work because he couldnt charge it)

[PlasticViolenceLego]

Wait, around the world? Is it adjustable to the gauge.

[PlasticViolenceLego]

Got a blueprint?

[geoffmackley]

@PlasticViolenceLego it is ajustable to guage and the blueprint is top secret ... hehe

[ZuKahta]

@geoffmackley that means it's on pirate bay right?

[MrJezza31]

omg you could sell that design to network rail in britan for testing old railway lines they were thinking of re opening before putting theyre class 37 on it for the real test well done i look forward to seeing it in action around britan

[Engineer9736]

Great video. You've got some balls to go this fast with an DIY trolley. A little tip: make your wheels conical shaped. So the outside of the wheel has a smaller circumference than the inside. Just about a few millimeters. This way the trolley will stay on the track without colliding onto the flange, which will roll very smooth. Real train wheels are shaped this way as well.

[geoffmackley]

@Engineer9736 Yo hi, thanks for your comment, I forwarded this to my engineer and the new wheels we are making have had exactly that done to them... cheers Geoff

[wasteom]

HOLY CRAP! dude thats amazing!!!!!!

[neonpike]

great vehicle and film

[B5guy]

That is really cool...!!!

[nztransportgeography]

There is no abandoned section. RNRT have taken the lease on the entire line and are developing the full route with a company that is running over the whole route. Best advised STAY AWAY if you don't want to cause trouble for yourself or them or get permission.

[SLOBoe]

Geoff, thanks for FINALLY sharing this!! Yes!!! But those wheels could extend just a bit farther over the rail head---man, it looks really close to slipping off the inside in a few shots. I'd really hate to see that happen as such high speeds with no helmets or protective gear.

VERY COOL!!!

[OnTourWithGerrit]

What were before you on the tracks?

[Gian2812]

wonderful solution Geoff. really nice video and very original train. thanks. by Gian ;-) UP

[xplorn]

haha Geoff good to see you haven't grown out of the rail jigger ideas.I remember you antics years ago with the first one LOL remember "growing old is mandatory,acting your age is optional" keep up the good work mate ;-)

[colliecandle]

Great video quality and a great looking line [how many miles long is it?] I think you need to pursue that solar traction idea..........Very interesting and practical application of renewable energy. I wish you guys every success.

[nineninefiveseafm]

That thing looks great Geoff. Bring it over to North Queensland and run it on the Savannahlander route from Cairns to Forsayth,would make a good TV doco. By the way I think the rail guage in Queensland is the same as N.Z. 3'6".

[samcamfilms]

this is awesome! how many km/h? looked about 45 easy

[TyphoonHunter]

Looks totally fake to me!

[R580NZ]

You'll have to sweet talk kiwirail and take over the mohaka viaduct, be some spectacular view angles up there. A single fertilizer train is the sole user about one or two days a month at the most.

So whats the specs on battery set up, run time, charge time using solar?

[ExtremeFireRisk]

What a wicked invention!

[Rawrnz]

Nice vid Geoff. nice to see something else other than blackberry on the rotorua line haha.

If you go to Mamaku, the line has been cleared and relaid in parts down to Kotu, in preparation for a tourist venture.

[geoffmackley]

@Rawrnz Hi mate, yes we have reccee'd it extensively, I beleive the Ngongotaha Rail trust has leased it off Kiwirail so want to approach them first before riding on that bit so as to not piss anyone off so thought we would keep to the abandoned section for now, we do intend to attempt to go all the way from Putararu to Rotorua some time soon....

[Rawrnz]

@geoffmackley

Fair enough. looking forward to your vids, been a while since ive walked it so it should be interesting

[TheCommanderNZ]

Kiwi ingenuity at it's best.

How long till we see these in stores? :)

[geoffmackley]

@TheCommanderNZ  It probably wont be too long -:)

[peeweethe1st]

Awesome, I'm so jellos. 

[GnomePlaysWoW]

HAHAHAHA the cows at 2:00 first they was like, OMFG, WHAT IZ THAAT?! then they were look oohh! It is shiny!

[86005537]

What if a train comes towards you! lolz it looks really fun

[GnomePlaysWoW]

@86005537

this does look like a abbondened railway to be honest, look at the bush in the beggining it couldn't be there if trains were goin on that rail i think xD

[Ercolano78]

That's great, seems to be working perfectly.