Pickup Bed Rails

A train, a story and a new friend

I was in the middle of nowhere, east of Lac Du Flambeau, Wis., searching for anything resembling the old Chicago and North Western depot that hadn’t been used since the early 1970s and torn down later. No such luck. I did find a healthy stand of grass, sand and several dozen old railroad ties thrown off to one side. If anything depot-related was there, it was well hid. Sort of amazing when you stop to consider that further on down and up the line the citizens of several towns and villages have rallied behind these old structures and either turned them into town museums or emporiums selling potpourri oils, shiny bling and wind chimes. Check out the depot in Mercer, Wis., for one example and you’ll see what I mean. No bling, all history. Here I am snapping photos of an abandoned rail bed, rail ties and grass and sand when I see the approach of an ATV, its rider waving hello and asking me if I’m hunting. No, not exactly, I reply, just reminiscing. “My granddad used to say that the only kind of shooting you could do out here where no one got hurt was with a camera,” he beamed. Riding along with him is his 6-year-old daughter, who makes me think of our granddaughter who is the same age. I miss her. Well, it turns out the ATV guy is also a medical helicopter pilot in Eau Claire, Wis., who just happens to know one of my favorite writers, Michael Perry (“Population 485,” “Truck, A Love Story”). The latter is about Perry’s love affair with an ancient International Harvester pickup truck and how he got it running again. I didn’t say he restored it, he just got it running. It’s road-worthy and takes him on down the road wherever $4 a gallon gas can take you. In a few minutes, I’ve made a new friend. His name is Matt. I have a lot of questions to ask him about how helicopters fly, but he has even more questions about the Chicago and North Western “Flambeau 400” that used to troll through these woods on its way to Ironwood, Mich., some 40 or so miles north of where we’re standing. That word “troll” deserves some explanation. The “400” streamliners were once pretty powerful and fast, making Minneapolis/St. Paul from Chicago in 400 minutes. By the time the passenger rail industry faded into memory yet green, they were a milk run from downtown Chicago to the north woods. For several years, I rode the line to our vacation spot just east of Manitowish, Wis.

Best Price Dual Support Pickup Truck Bed Ladder & Utility Rack ...

Field-goal style pickup truck ladder rack designed to mount to bed rails 52″ to 71″ apart Dual rail system supports up to 500 lbs. (evenly distributed) Installs in about 20 minutes, requires drilling 3/8″ holes into the pickup truck bed rails Plastic end-caps eliminate water and debris from collecting inside the tubes Heavy duty 1-7/8″D steel tube construction with a black powder-coat finish

Dual support, field-goal style pickup truck ladder rack holds up to 500 lbs. safely for transport. Mounts to bed rails between 52″ and 71″ apart. Installation requires drilling 3/8″ holes into the truck bed side rails. Includes plastic end-caps to prevent water from entering the frame tubes. Heavy duty 1-7/8″D steel tubing with a black powder-coat finish .

Popular mechanics

Take Cover QuickOver is a new twist to pickup bed covers. ... rails, etc. The cover attaches to special hooks that come with the unit, and is available to ...

Phlebotomy Essentials

Bed rails may be let down, but be careful not to catch IV lines, catheter bags and tubing ... Bed rails must be raised again when the procedure is finished. ...

Builder

112 TOP DOWN: For quick access, the Retrax roll-top pickup bed glides back and forth in a low-profile rail system made from aluminum. ...

Scientific American

Third, The combination of the bedstead, A. bed rails, a, and a', the devices for operating the Bame and the transverse bands, jj, with the bandsa, hh, ...

The Northwestern reporter

bed at said point was not properly ballasted up so as to be firm and solid, and the ties upon which the rails rested were old and rotten, and that said ...