A close-up of Hi-Rail equipment on an NS pickup:
Note that the rear tires actually "ride" on the rail and propel the truck.
As an aside, what ever the speedometer shows in MPH, that is what speed it is traveling at; a friend and I were on an authorized inspection trip on the line to Atlantic City, NJ (long before Amtrak and no trains had used it for several years) and he had the thing up at least 65 mph; far above any rule book speed restrictions. We asked him to slow down (no measurable result) and then I had a brilliant idea; I asked if I could drive. "Sure." he said; we switched and 25 to 30 mph was the result; I remembered that figure from some rule book that I had read. All-in-all, it was a fun weekend. BTW, end result of the inspection trip was that there was not enough industry on the line to justify a return of freight service.
