Railroad Workers with Hand Car

photo interpretation provided by Gary Mang, Manager of Track Maintainence, Union Pacific Railroad, Chicago, IL. (Gary also races hand cars.)

Details

The image above House for handcar, note rails perpendicular to track running into doors of building for storing handcar. Probably had office inside also.

Boxes on the right end of the hand car which look like lunch pails.

Detail of the wheel on the right and gears under the car. Note unique style of the spokes, probably indicates local casting and the car was manufactured locally.

Detail of left wheel and brake mechanism. Note pedal and linkage and brake shoe.

Two men on the left.

Three men on the right. Guy on left is without coat. Note logo on chest of guy at right.

Tools stacked around the pump handel, shovels, picks.

Center guys coat on floor of cart, two iron poles wraped in canvas, pick.

Ties on left.

Ties on mid left.

Ties on mid-right, brakes, gears.

Ties on far-right, stuff by house.

Hills in background.

This image of a pre-civil war handcar is from the Library of Congress Collection