Cuyamaca
•Built in 1908
•Second Oldest Aerodynamic Vehicle in Existence
•Oldest Internal Combustion Railcar in North America.
One of the Oldest All Steel Railcars in North America.
•Hit Speeds of 60MPH through Salt Lake City on Delivery, but reported could do 80MPH.
•Ran between San Diego, Lemon Grove, La Mesa, El Cajon, Lakeside, and Foster.
• Sold to Yuma Valley Railroad in 1914, owned by Department of the Reclamation (Dep’t of Interior)
• Sold to Alaska Railroad in 1926, Rebuilt in 1927, Converted to Baggage Passenger car (Non-Motorized) in 1935. Removed from Rails around 1945.
How you can Help
Sharing our Project with your friends, Donating, and Following our Project on Patreon, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram are the best ways to help.
We are a Certified 501c3 Non-Profit Organization with the IRS.
EIN 81-3144870.
As a result, Donations are 50% Tax Deductible.
100% of Donations go to either of our 2 projects, the Restoration of the McKeen Car “Cuyamaca” or the Preservation of the Southern Pacific McKeen Trailer Car T-16.”
McKEen Motor car Company
• Steel Railcars Imagined and Engineered by William R. McKeen Jr., E.H. Harriman (President of Union Pacific, Edward Budd, and William Armstrong Fairburn.
•Many Principles of Construction conceived in these cars were then used to set the Harriman Common Standard.
•Removed the Clerestory (Second Roofline on Wood Passenger cars) from standard construction, allows lest joints in the roofline, making for a stronger lighter design.
•Aerodynamic Principles were built into the design to reduce drag on the limited 200 HP the engine could produce.
•Car Body was built on the principle of Semi-Monocoque Design, where the 12 Gauge Steel Skin was load bearing. This is how race cars and air planes are built today, McKeen built his first car like this in late 1905.
We helped produce this video, and goes over much of the major points regarding the innovation and history of the McKeen Motor Cars.