This is a human powered parade float for a Christmas night parade. It was built by the Human Powered Vehicle Operators of Ottawa (HPVOoO) http://hpv.tricolour.net . More details can be found on http://hpv.tricolour.net/train.html . The base platform is a human powered tandem recumbent tricycle towing a home made 4'x8' tandem axle 3/4 ton flatbed cargo trailer which in turn is towing a kid's wagon. The trike lies entirely underneath the bottom locomotive boiler line. The rest is added superstructure. The red, green and blue lights are 130m of 2.5mm electro-luminescent wire. The horn is a real diesel locomotive air horn.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
http://hpv.tricolour.net/train-elwire.txt
The wood was almost all recycled. The bike rims were in a scrap heap, as was the stove pipe.
A friend gave me the diesel locomotive air horn, but those can fetch anywhere from $300 to $900. The air tank and connectors were $75-$100.
The tandem recumbent trike you can find here: http://greenspeed.com.au/gtt.html
The trailer was about $200 in metal plus labour.
tandem: 80 pounds
trailer: 100+ pounds
kid's wagon: 25 pounds
diesel loco air horn: 20 pounds
On top of that is three 10' sections of 2x6", a bit of 2x2" and smaller lumber, 1/2" conduit and the lights basically weigh nothing compared to the rest of this.
So, 275 pounds as a guess? Then you have two adults pedalling, 12 kids in the big trailer and a couple of kids in the wagon. The big trailer is good for 1500 pounds (3/4 ton).