14 ft 8 inch extreme not-narrow gauge RR in Idaho

I realize that this 14 ft 8 inch gauge railroad is about as far as you can get from narrow gauge, but is an interesting and unique railroad nevertheless. Recent fragmentary accident reports about a nuclear powered cruise missile in Russia brought back reminders about this amazing railroad in Idaho that
was used for testing nuclear powered jet engines for bombers during the cold war. These jet engines used hot air from a small nuclear reactor instead of kerosene with the intent of powering aircraft for extremely long duration flights. The project was cancelled by president Kennedy in early 1961 as obsolete and too dangerous, and no nuclear powered bomber ever flew. However two experimental units were built in Idaho before then, and they traveled on a four- rail railroad that consisted of four rails spaced for standard gauge. The test units traveled on flat cars supported by four standard gauge trucks using the outer set of standard gauge rails. I vaguely remember seeing a photo of an engine using the center standard gauge track, but I am no longer sure about that as I don't have a copy of the photo.

The test units were intended to be scrapped after project cancellation, but were instead prepared for preservation and are now on public display at the INEL in Idaho. The test units were trucked to their present display site and are not near the railroad. I don't know if the railroad still exists. It would be interesting to learn the fate of this amazing railroad.

Here are the two test units on their flat cars. Note the additional ultra wide flat cars (about 18 ft wide) in the background of the first photo. The railroad connected various shop facilities and testing areas, and included switches and even a turntable. (All this is public information from nearly 60 years ago).









Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2019 10:30PM by Olaf Rasmussen.