Nostalgia & History > Last handcars in use by railroads?

We are putting the final touches on Mason's handcar assembly manual and I am looking for the last known date, or approximate year that someone saw a handcar in service on a railroad... other than a museum or tourist line.

Most handcars were replaced with motor cars between 1905 and 1912, but many remained in service in rail yards into the 1960s. The attached article from 1961 indicates they were still in use on the Wabash. While motorcars were called handcars, this article represents the thieves pumped the handcar, telling me this was a handcar and not a motor car.

I am looking for first hand observations or photos showing handcars being used into the 1960s or even the 1970s. Any railroaders out there see them in engine houses in the 1970s?

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

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When I worked as CB&Q switchman at St Paul, 1962-65, the lamplighter would make his daily rounds to fill the fonts on the switchlamps with signal oil, on a 3-wheel velocopede.

-John Stein

LarryDoyle Wrote:
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> When I worked as CB&Q switchman at St Paul,
> 1962-65, the lamplighter would make his daily
> rounds to fill the fonts on the switchlamps with
> signal oil, on a 3-wheel velocopede.
>
> -John Stein

I have photos of velocipedes in service into the 1970's. I am looking for four wheel handcars.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

I took this photo of a hand car on the Belfast & Moosehead Lake RR in Belfast Maine in July of 1980. I don't know if it was still used at this time but it was on railroad property and it looks well maintained.
Ken Gear

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sig292 Wrote:
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> I took this photo of a hand car on the Belfast &
> Moosehead Lake RR in Belfast Maine in July of
> 1980. I don't know if it was still used at this
> time but it was on railroad property and it looks
> well maintained.
> Ken Gear

Thank you, it looks like it was still in use locked down to prevent theft.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Attached are photos of a NKP handcar in Cleveland, on the near east side, just east of the old 9Th street coach yard , numbered NKP 2917. The slides are stamped July 1970. I will check with some NKPHTS folks and try to nail down a better location.

G.F.Payne
Baltimore, MD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/17 11:47 by SamRae.

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SamRae Wrote:
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> Have a photo of a NKP handcar in Cleveland, on the
> near east side, east of the old coach yard
> somewhere, numbered 2917. The slide is stamped
> July 1970. I'll try to scan the slide tomorrow
> and post it.



Fantastic, looking forward to it.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Now a question for the diesel experts---what kind of traction motor is that one just beyond the handcar?

The C&O historical society has a motorcar book that shows a pumpcar being used quite late. I'll have to dig the book out to see if there's a date on the shot.

Joe

Those NKP photos are simply amazing in the detail they show. I wonder how often it was used. Handcars are quite useful for yard use when you don't need to pump far to the worksite. Funny tidbit, the last pump cars were manufactured by Fairmont in 1976 for a railroad in Bolivia that ordered 40 of them. Fairmont offered them for sale in the US, but I don't think they were successful.

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> Now a question for the diesel experts---what kind
> of traction motor is that one just beyond the
> handcar?

The B&ML only rostered GE 70 tonners so I guess it would be a GE 748 traction motor.