This 1970 Fairmont CR-7 Speeder is similar to the company’s M-14 Speeder, but made for the Canadian market. With a nice fiberglass cab, this appears to be a killer deal for anyone looking for an inexpensive and enclosed Speeder. The seller has it posted here on Facebook Marketplace in Monroe, Washington, and they’re asking $2,350. Here is the original listing, and thanks to… well, I found this one, and I would love to own it!
This is one sleek railroad speeder car, if there is such a thing as a sleek box. The slight V-shape of the front end of this l’il thing is great. Apparently, the CR-7 was a Canadian version of Fairmont’s much more popular M-14 series, and it had a fiberglass cab, as seen here. This would be such a fun restoration project. I don’t know why I like railroad equipment so much. Maybe growing up in Duluth, MN, with all of its railroad history, with the Iron Range an hour north, and millions of rail cars full of taconite pellets being carried down to the ore docks to be loaded and shipped out to steel mills on Lake Superior.
This one looks really complete, and the seller shows a photo of the doors that aren’t shown attached to the cab, so that’s great to know they come with the sale. They say they’re made from plywood, but anything is better than nothing. From what I can find, this model was made from around the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, and Fairmont’s M-14 series was a belt-drive unit, as opposed to the MT-14, which had a transmission. This speeder is said to have been stored for 30 years, and not started for 20 years.
Here are the controls, with more than enough room to add a 18″ media screen and a couple of heated cup holders. I say, with more thaaaa… gggggg… (hands around neck). The controls are a bit confusing to look at, but fairly simple to use once you read the little tag that I enlarged here. Fairmont Motors was founded in Fairmont, Minnesota, in 1909 and lasted seven decades. This example is wearing Great Northern badges, the great railroad of James J. Hill, but Canadian National and other railroads, typically northern ones, used these models.
This isn’t any kind of engine that I would imagine being in a 1970 vehicle; it looks like something from 1870. Fairmont’s RO-series engines were offered in several models; this being the latest version, the ROC, the most common of the engines used by Fairmont, and they were offered up into the 1990s! It’s an 8-hp single-cylinder, crank-start, two-stroke, and the seller has included a video of it turning over, but it obviously needs some tinkering to get back on track, both figuratively and literally. What are your thoughts on vintage railroad equipment? yay or nay?
Another great RR find!!! I’m really surprised at just how many of these little Cruisers are out there. . The belt drive is an interesting concept, I just figured they all had transmissions, that belt looks pretty wide and beefy in the photo, I’m wondering what the service life is on it, or if you could even get a replacement. I always enjoy the great variety of vehicles thats on Barnfinds.
That cab paid dividends up North ❄️ 🚆 🚉
A small rig that kept us moving forward and played a big part after the RR opened up our country.
Another great story, SG.
My model railroad group is restoring a similar speeder. A bit older, and some parts are hard to find. Thankfully, Skyler, the man in charge, works on farm machinery, so he can adapt. Not fast, but a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, and there is a group for owners of these. A fair price, and it looks like you wont have to parts scrounge