NARCOA club came to Tamaqua Schuylkill County. The group made several brief layovers in town while letting children and adults alike check out their cars.

Summary provided by ‘NARCOA’ - is a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation and the safe, legal operation of railroad equipment historically used for maintenance of way. The key phrase in this description is “ safe, legal operation”. NARCOA members operate their own privately owned railroad motorcars on railroads throughout the United States and Canada during railroad-sanctioned NARCOA excursions. Members travel through some of the most picturesque areas of the North American continent. Excursions vary from one-day, 25 mile trips between two towns to multi-day, 1000 mile trips covering several states or provinces! These excursions are organized by NARCOA Excursion Coordinators. All excursions are approved by and coordinated with participating railroads.

Railroad motorcars or ‘Speeders’ were used by the railroads to inspect the many miles of track for defects and to handle track maintenance. Speeders have been phased out by the railroads in favor of Hy-Rail Vehicles, which are standard road vehicles with retractable guide wheels that can operate on road or rail. Rail fans bought the scrap speeders and organized NARCOA in the mid 1980’s. Running a speeder costs considerably less than boating or golfing although some think it’s a hot, noisy and smelly hobby! Some members also own and operate more modern Hy-Rail vehicles.