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No matter how stupid this may sound, this is a serious question.

 

Most railroads had handcars back in the day. I'd thought about building one for the narrow gauge portion of my layout, On30. But when I really got to thinking about it and thinking about the way handcars were built, did narrow gauge even have handcars? Traditionally the wheels are on the outside of the body, trying to narrow gauge one in the traditional sense leads me to thinking it would look something like a skateboard.

 

So, if they had them, how were they made? Has anyone seen one?

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Back when the D&RGW operated the 36" narrow gauge Silverton branch in the 1950's and I rode it, I watched them precede my train with a motorized hand car, checking

the track for rock falls.  More recently I have seen one sitting  in this little yard a few

miles north of Durango (Hermosa?) that you can turn east off of 550 and drive back to, and have seen one come into Silverton, preceding a train as then.

Thanks, Jim.
 
 
Originally Posted by AL CLAIR:

The Denver South Park and Pacific used another style of hand car that was known as a gravity car.  It was a 3 wheel car with 2 wheels one one side on the other. (This information on page 363 in Mack Poor's book).  I did not find any information if these were hand powered or pushed.  Just some thing else to consider.

Al

Sounds like a velocipede (not sure about the spelling?).

I think it was just yesterday I mentioned on another thread having 2 of a 3 book

series by Elmer Sulzer on "ghost" (abandoned) railroads, lacking the one on Tennessee RR's,  and my wish was somebody's command, for in a train show today

I picked up a copy.  And therein is a photo of a narrow gauge motor car (powered

hand car) in use on the "Tweetsie" (ET&NWC).

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