OT, A predicament at the railroad-Photo

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: OT, A predicament at the railroad-Photo
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 07:48 pm:



Do you think they are going to walk that handcar across the wash out?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Alexander in Albion, Maine on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 07:50 pm:

Looks like they are trying every angle to get it across.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Woods, Richmond, Texas on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 08:54 pm:

Looks like they were fixing to be "up the unsanitary tributary".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Seth - Ohio on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 09:52 pm:

How would you like to be flying down the tracks and pumping the handle for all your worth only to round the bend and see the tracks washed out!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Eagle Ida Fls on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 10:16 pm:

They certainly aren't on the level %0)

Rich


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By keith g barrier on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 10:19 pm:

In those days they manhandled the problem, more track to be inspected I'm sure. KGB


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 10:21 pm:

"S**t that was lucky, dang near lost a $400.00 hand car"


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Henrichs on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:48 am:

The inspiration for the first roller coaster!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By tyler searle on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 05:54 am:

Good one Dave.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warren Henderson on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 07:16 am:

Great photo Herb! Keith as head of the Russian Secret Service you should not be making that public information. Dave, "S**t that was lucky, dang near lost a $400.00 hand car" and our jobs. Sorry Bill, I'm with Dennis on this one. I think they are just trying to save the hand cart and their jobs.

Happy motoring'

Warren


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 11:28 am:

There just going to inspect the rest of the track, this will be fixed by the time they get back. They didn't need to weight for the administrators and unions to get a job dune back then.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 11:37 am:

Has anyone on the forum ever been on one of those hand operated carts?

How hard is it to work and if you have 4 guys working it how fast can you really go?

Were there multiple sizes? Could you work one like in the picture with just one guy?

I've always wanted to jump on one and try it! Seems like it'd be a blast. I always thought one of those as a amusement ride would be great (although entirely too dangerous, people would either fall off or have a heart attack from working too hard, etc).


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 11:43 am:

An area hard hit by the Depression.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Howard D. Dennis on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 11:45 am:

The other unknown here is are they just starting across the sunken track or are they almost finished after they get over the hill?

Howard Dennis


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 12:11 pm:

Seth
Google hand car races,there are yearly events
and one might be near you.

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Gumbinger, Kenosha, WI on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 12:21 pm:

We ran a hand car like this many years ago at an antique transportation meet, and they ARE dangerous!

We raced it down the track, stopped it and picked up a piece of paper on the ground, then reversed direction and went back to the starting point. We did this with a 4 person crew, sometimes with mixed sexes. The lowest time won. Very dangerous, could never do that today. It would make an insurance guy faint on the spot.

When they're going along, the handle goes up and down regardless if you are pushing or pulling on it. If your head is down when the handle comes up, you'll have a broken or at least awfully sore jaw. The problems Seth mentioned above of potential heart attacks or falling off when at speed, are very real and could even be fatal.

Yes, they do come in different sizes and the smaller ones can be operated by just one person, but it's a lot of work.

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 12:36 pm:

Bob, Ewe gotte won illiterate 'puter their!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 02:00 pm:

Funny Dave, my mind instantly went to "Blazing Saddles" quotes as well, but if I posted the one I was thinking of, I'd probably be banned from the forum for life. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:31 pm:

Herb - To answer your question, IMO,.....Yes! They are definitely going to "walk that hand car across the wash out". I'm sure that there's a lot more track to inspect past THIS wash out, and there'd be only one more way to get the hand car through, and that would be to carry it! Think of the weight of that thing, and look at the terrain and distance that they'd have to carry it, and there's no question in my mind that despite the precarious angle of the washed out track, rolling the hand car on the rails is by far the only logical way.

As and "aside", in the late 1800's and early 1900's (and even later), the easiest (and cheapest) way to build a railroad, especially back in the days of very crude earth-moving equipment was to follow the naturally mostly gentle grades that were formed by rivers and streams. The problem with that is the "gamble" the engineers took with the ever-present threat of wash outs! FWIW,......harold

(.....another great old picture by the way Herb,.....)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:33 pm:

Keith - ....you said the same thing that I said, but with a lot less words!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 04:50 pm:

Derek, I know I have to stop my quotes right where they are.:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 07:39 pm:

Actually they were 40 miles from town and it either save the car or walk home.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rick Benjamin on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 08:20 pm:

That really looks like a stretch of the Durango & Silverton in Colorado. I've seen other 1900s photos of a washout on the D&S that seems identical. Here's a 2007 view: Durango & Silverton.jpg


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Woods, Richmond, Texas on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 08:25 pm:

For those that are unfamiliar with the term that I used above, "unsanitary tributary", it is the same thing as "Schitt Creek".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 09:46 pm:

Hmm,interesting; right now it looks like they are at the most precarious spot on the washout. Wish we knew if they were almost done crossing it, or just starting to cross.
The tracks are too wide to be part of the D&S, but that's interesting that they did not recover the rail from the previous wash out.
Yes, handcars can be dangerous, and YES, it becomes very tiring pumping one around, especially if you are the only one pumping! Been there, done that, didn't get a T-shirt!


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