First off, JJ’s appendix burst? Ouch. I’m sure that threw a wrench into the shooting schedule. At least the build team was self-running - “Anyone seen Jesse today? No? Well, let’s keep going on this” then “Big Schwag” pops in with the news.
A side question - other than the “play by play” commentary at the end of the show, what does “Big Schwag” do?
Back to the episode - My suspicion is that Jesse intentionally derailed the truck so he could say (roughly) “Don’t be silly. No car can beat a train” - sort of a freebie subliminal public safety message.
As to the build itself - what was the real challenge? They turned a something (would you call that a sports station wagon, or a small SUV?) into a high-railer. (Actual trademark is Hy-Rail) Whoopie. These are not much more than bolt-on wheel assemblies and steering wheel locks (ever see a steering wheel on a train?), so this wasn’t a huge challenge. I was surprised at the difficulty they had finding track wheels, though. And when the freight people found only three wheels, why didn’t they go back to that junkyard and re-swipe the wheels they’d already swiped and returned? Instead, they took the challenge of machining a big slug of steel into a wheel, but Jesse’s own shop foreman at West Coast Choppers tossed them out at 5:00? Think they’re still employed?