One of my magazines had an article on track inspection cars, and they included this advertisement from the early 20th century.

I really like the look of the motorized one. I made an earlier one using the Radio Shack Zip Zaps, but it really doesn't last long on a charge. Jon Radder in Massachusetts provided me with a Stomper, so I decided to use that as a base for a new one.

I got some spoked wheels from Ozark and crafted the rest from styrene, brass wire, and Sculpey.

The woman is a commercial figure, but the man was scratch-built using brass wire and Sculpey.

The Stomper runs on a single AA battery and can make many laps on a single charge.

I routed the headlight from the Stomper to light the lantern.

Now I have something that can make the rounds on my layout.

It still goes a bit too fast for my taste, but you can't have everything.