Handcar
Encyclopedia
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a maintenance of way or mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases. A typical design consists of an arm that pivots, seesaw-like, on a base, which the passengers alternately push down and pull up to move the car.
Handcars have been normally used by railway service personnel for railroad inspection and maintenance. Because of their low weight and small size, they can be put on and taken off the rails at any place, allowing trains to pass. Handcars have since been replaced by self propelled vehicles that do not require the use of manual power, instead relying on internal combustion engines or electricity to move the vehicle.
Handcars are nowadays used by handcar enthusiasts at vintage railroad events and for races between handcars driven by five person teams (one to push the car from a halt, four to pump the lever). One such race has been held in Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
since 2008 and other races are held in Australia. See the section on racing below.
Australia
In Australia, hand cars or pump carts are commonly referred to as Kalamazoos after the Kalamazoo Manufacturing CompanyKalamazoo Manufacturing Company
The Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was a railroad-equipment manufacturer and, later, a materials-handling company that was founded in 1883 and closed in the 1990s...
, which provided many examples to the Australian railway market. Many Kalamazoos are preserved in Australia, some even being used for races.
Bamboo cart
In CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and other developing countries, local citizens sometimes make their own unofficial carts to transport goods along the railway tracks.
Japan
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, dozens of commercially operated handcar railway lines, called or existed in early 20th century. Those lines were purely built for its passenger/freight service, and "drivers" pushed small train cars all the way. The first line, Fujieda-Yaizu Tramway, opened in 1891, and most of the others opened before 1910. Most lines were very short with less than 10 km lengths, and the rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
s used were either or .
As the human-powered system was fairly inefficient, many handcar tramways soon changed their power resources to either horse
Horsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
or gasoline
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
. The system was not strong against a competition with other modes of transport, such as truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es, or other railways. Taishaku Handcar Tramway ceased its operation as early as 1912, and almost all the lines were already closed before 1945.
List of handcar tramways in Japan
- HokkaidōHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
- Ebetsu Town Handcar Tramway 江別町営人車軌道
- AkitaAkita Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
- Nakanishi Tokugorō Operated Tramway 中西徳五郎経営軌道
- YamagataYamagata Prefecture-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...
- Akayu Handcar Tramway 赤湯人車軌道
- IwateIwate Prefectureis the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
- Waga Light Tramway 和賀軽便軌道
- MiyagiMiyagi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
- Matsuyama Handcar Tramway 松山人車軌道
- TochigiTochigi Prefectureis a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...
- Iwafune Handcar Tramway 岩舟人車鉄道
- Kitsuregawa Handcar Tramway 喜連川人車鉄道
- Nabeyama Handcar Tramway 鍋山人車軌道
- Nasu Handcar Tramway 那須人車軌道
- Otome Handcar Tramway 乙女人車軌道
- Utsunomiya Stone Tramway 宇都宮石材軌道
- IbarakiIbaraki Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
- Haguro Tramway 羽黒軌道
- Inada Tramway 稲田軌道
- Iwama Tramway 岩間軌道
- Kabaho Kōgyō Tramway 樺穂興業軌道
- Kasama Handcar Tramway 笠間人車軌道
- ChibaChiba Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
- Mobara-Chōnan Handcar Tramway 茂原・長南間人車軌道
- Noda Handcar Tramway 野田人車鉄道 (linemap)
- Ōhara-Ōtaki Handcar Tramway 大原・大多喜間人車軌道
- Tōkatsu Handcar Tramway 東葛人車鉄道
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
- Taishaku Handcar Tramway 帝釈人車軌道
- The current KeiseiKeisei Electric RailwayThe is a major private railway in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan. The name Keisei is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railways main line connects. The combination uses different readings than the ones used in the city names. The railway's main line runs from Tokyo to Narita and...
Kanamachi LineKeisei Kanamachi Lineis a Rail line of Keisei Electric Railway. The entire line is run in Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan.-Statistics:* Length: 2.5km* Gauge: 1.435m* Number of Stations: 3* Interlocking system: Electronic Interlocking...
.
- The current Keisei
- Taishaku Handcar Tramway 帝釈人車軌道
- GunmaGunma Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...
- Satomi Tramway 里見軌道
- Yabuzuka Stone Tramway 藪塚石材軌道
- The part of the current TōbuTobu Railwayis a Japanese commuter railway company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. It operates in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, and Gunma Prefectures...
Kiryū LineTobu Kiryu LineThe is a railway line of Japanese major private railway company Tōbu Railway in Tokyo. The line is a 20.3 km branch off the Isesaki Line at Ōta Station, southbounds to Akagi Station.-Stations:All stations are located in Gunma Prefecture.-External links:...
.
- The part of the current Tōbu
- KanagawaKanagawa Prefectureis a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
- Zusō Handcar Tramway 豆相人車鉄道
- Also in Shizuoka.
- Zusō Handcar Tramway 豆相人車鉄道
- ShizuokaShizuoka Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
- Fujieda-Yaizu Tramway 藤枝焼津間軌道
- Nakaizumi Tramway 中泉軌道
- Shimada Tramway 島田軌道
- FukuiFukui Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...
- Hongō Tramway 本郷軌道
- OkinawaOkinawa Prefectureis one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
- Okinawa Handcar Tramway 沖縄人車軌道
Taiwan
In TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, commercially operated handcars were called either light railway line (Traditional Chinese: 輕便線; Hanyu Pinyin: qīngbiàn-xiàn), hand-pushed light railway line (手押輕便線; shǒuyā qīngbiàn-xiàn), hand-pushed tramway (手押軌道; shǒuyā guǐdào), or most commonly, hand-pushed wagon (手押臺車; shǒuyā táichē). The first line was built in 1870s. The network developed later under Japanese rule
Taiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
. In 1933, its peak, there were more than 50 lines in the island with 1,292 km network, transporting local passengers, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
s, factory products, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
s, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
s, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
leaves, and others. Most lines, excluding those in mines and isolated islands, have disappeared after Japanese have left. However, a few lines survived well until 1970s. Currently, only the sightseeing line in Wūlái
Wulai Township
Wulai District is a rural district in southern New Taipei City in northern Republic of China . It sits near the border with Taipei and is famous for its hot springs. The name of the town derives from the Atayal phrase qilux ulay meaning "hot and poisonous".-Geography:* Elevation: * Area: *...
still exists, although its line is not human-powered anymore.
In popular culture
- Handcars are a recurring plot device of twentieth century film comedy. For example, the opening scene of Blazing SaddlesBlazing SaddlesBlazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
, set at a railroad construction site, features a handcar. - In the movie Mad Max Beyond ThunderdomeMad Max Beyond ThunderdomeMad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise...
, the culminating chase scene takes place along a railway, with one of the pursuers chasing the heroes down the tracks on a handcar. - In the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?O Brother, Where Art Thou?O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...
, there is an old man who is always seen pushing one.
Handcar racing
Starting in 2008, an annual handcar race, known as the Hand-car Regatta, has been held in the railyard in downtown Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
.
A multi-faceted festival, it is centred in races of numerous widely varying human-powered vehicles operating on railroad tracks. These include traditional hand-powered carts and others powered by pedals or pushing.
Other races are held in Australia, some using preserved old handcars. See the reference above discussing Kalamazoos in Australia.
See also
- Draisine
- Human-powered transportHuman-powered transportHuman-powered transport is the transport of person and/or goods using human muscle power. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming...
- RailcarRailcarA railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
- Some rowing cycles are inspired by early handcars
External links
- PRR Hand Car diagrams
- History and other information
- The Hand-Car Regatta Race 全国人車鉄道一覧 (List of Handcar Tramways all Japan) 友蚋炭坑人車軌道 (Yǒuruì Coal Mine Handcar Tramway): About the handcar railway line in Taiwan.