Yesterday we talked about my childhood desire to own a railroad handcar. Let us grant this wish (in fantasy, of course).
A handcar (also known as a pump trolley, pump car, rail push trolley, push-trolley, jigger, Kalamazoo, velocipede, or draisine) is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a railway maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases. A typical design consists of an arm, called the walking beam, that pivots, seesaw-like, on a base, which the passengers alternately push down and pull up to move the car.
1908 Mexican Tin Ex Voto – Men on Railroad Handcar– Lot 225, Auction 3/8/2022
Latin America, Mexico, ca. 1908. Hand painted on heavy gauge tin, a Mexican ex voto depicting four men on a railroad handcar, working to lay train tracks, while a boy sits at one end of the platform and another workman lies below the handcar in a prone position, with his hat before him and his head cradled in his arms. In the background are rolling hills and mountain peaks. Finally, a vision of the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos (of the Lakes) is at the upper right. The Holy Virgin Mary is crowned and enrobed in blue, gold, and white, standing upon a crescent moon and floating above clouds in all her hallowed presence.
Size of ex voto: 13.5″ W x 9.25″ H (34.3 cm x 23.5 cm) Size of frame: 17.75″ W x 13.5″ H (45.1 cm x 34.3 cm)
In the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” directed by the Coen Brothers, the main characters Everett, Pete, and Delmar encounter an old blind man on a railroad handcar. This scene takes place early in the film after the trio escapes from a chain gang.
The old man, who appears to be a seer or prophet, gives them cryptic advice about their journey ahead. He tells them that they will find a fortune, but not the one they seek. He also mentions that they will face many obstacles and that they will see a “cow on the roof of a cotton house.” This prophecy sets the tone for the fantastical and episodic nature of the movie, which is loosely based on Homer’s “The Odyssey.” The old man’s predictions come to pass in various ways throughout the film, and his character adds a mystical element to the story.
Buster Keaton / The General
The General is a 1926 American silent film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The story was adapted from the 1889 memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger. The film stars Buster Keaton, who also co-directed it along with Clyde Bruckman. – Wikipedia
Green Eggs and Ham
In a Dr. Seuss movie, Green Eggs and Ham, the Grumpy Guy escapes on the handcar in the rain.
Lucile Ball and Fred MacMurray on a Sheffield hand car used during the filming of Lucy Hunts Uranium. This program was broadcast in January 1958 as part of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. This hand car is missing its horizontal tension rods. The program is set in Las Vegas and the film features a Union Pacific freight train.
A rail push trolley in India (1978) By Nick from Bristol, UK – Indian railways, 1978
History
Handcars came onto the railroad scene in the 1860’s built by individual railroads in their shops. Early models used a hand crank that was spun to propel the car. These cars were dangerous and killed men. By 1887 most of these cars were out of service, but some railroads kept them around as they were still operable.
Beginning in the 1880’s, commercial versions were built by the Sheffield, Buda, and Kalamazoo companies. The cars weighed 500-600 pounds and could be handled by two men.
Lovely photo of a family posing on a hand car. Judging by the shoes this is probably in the 1920’s. This deck had been redone at some point as Sheffield hand cars were delivered with wider planks. – RailroadHandCar.com
Engineering
By MichaelFrey – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://www.railroadhandcar.com/history/history.php
You Can Own One!
The Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company: pretty cool web site (http://www.kalamazoomfg.com), with lots of info on the design and construction of hand cars. This site is by Mason Clark, who also runs the www.railroadhandcar.com site.
Tranquility of the Handcar
The pickup truck of the 1890’s was the handcar. These durable machines carried the men that maintained the railroad. My brother Mason builds these machines entirely from scratch. With permission he pumps them across the Nevada Northern Railway in the legendary Great Basin of the Western United States.
My dad shot and edited the video, and I composed and performed the sound track. My soundtrack includes piano, acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, and marimba.
For more information about the handcar visit Mason’s web site at kalamazoomfg.com. If you enjoy my music please subscribe as I will have more compositions coming soon.
Since 1992, Folsom, El Dorado, and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association has hosted the annual Folsom Handcar Derby on the former Southern Pacific Placerville Branch, where local businesses, groups, and charities compete to get their handcar across the finish line in the fastest time.
The event also features competitions for individual strength and endurance, and it’s the only known event in the world to feature Quadripede racing!
Each team is comprised of 5 members: 4 pumpers and 1 pusher. The pusher pushes the handcar into motion at the beginning of the track, and then the pumpers take over and pump the handcar to the end of the track.
Pushers Contest
Each team’s pusher will automatically be entered in the pushers contest on Sunday. Pushers are placed in weight divisions and compete on how far they can push an empty handcar down the track with a single push. Additional pushers can be entered for a small donation.
[ed. note: The pushers’ contest is my event. I excel at transferring momentum.]
