Alright Pennsy Fans, What is This?

What is this piece of equipment? It looks like a double decker bus that has been cut up and put on the rails.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2570528

Here is the album with another view

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=68412

From what I’m reading from the site below its a car pusher sitting at Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio

http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1843&sid=e312ce474690f51a933c3872e62ac931

Yes, like PRR Pappy said, it’s a “mule” or car pusher that was used to shuffle ore “Jennies” at the Huron docks. Similar cars were used at Whiskey Island in Cleveland. There is a retractable arm that would engage a pad on the corners of the ore cars, almost like a poling pocket. These narrow gauge cars would run between the standard gauge tracks and could move cuts of empties into position and shove the loads out.

Here’s my pic of the same Mule.

[View:http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/

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| From Bellevue Railroad Museum |

:550:0]

See my video of a cab ride under the Huletts and some of these mules set aside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9drS3Wqyp8

hope this helps, ED

It is a coal car pusher from the coal docks in either Toledo, or Sandusky or Cleveland. It was used to move the hopper cars up to the cable operated pig that pushes the individual cars up to the car dumper. They are electric and run on a third rail. It has an arm that extends out to engage the end corner of the coal car to push them up the steep incline to the machine. There were two large coal and iron ore docks near toledo, they were used by the C&O, B&O, NYC, T&OC, Wheelling, Wabash, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and I am sure some other railroads, as well as the P-Company. If IIRC they were made by GE weigh 70 ton and are shown in the 1943 Locomotive Cyclopedia. I am not at home, so I can’t verify the book reference. And yes that is at the Nickle Plate and Mad River Meuseum in Belleview Ohio. No I am not a P-Company fan, my relatives all worked on the NYC & C&O with this equipment, and I have been in the cab of them while operational. Luckey me!!! The machines were on the east side of toledo near downtown, and were moved twice to the location out onto Maumee bay. I am not sure when they ceased operation. Them and the iron ore machines were still operational when I left the area for the greener pastures of the US Air Force shortley after receiving my draft notice.

Paul

Dayton and Mad River Railroad

This discussion from a while back may be of interest:

http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/173751.aspx?PageIndex=1

The Conrail (former PRR) ore pier in South Philadelphia had a couple of these pushers that were diesel powered.

At least they had the manufacturer name on the side, which made it easy to find.

I want to thank you all for the responses. When I came across it, I was puzzled. It sounds like it was efficient for its time.

I searched for it on Google, but I wasn’t getting anywhere at the time.

Will.

Next time give us something difficult like this. http://prr.railfan.net/photos/StreetTractors/Euclid_tractor_3.jpg The street tractors are cool. They even had to register the things. Imagine that DOT inspection.

Pete

Oh, I have always loved those PRR street tractors. There is another shot here, with some useful links

http://prr.railfan.net/RubberTiredSwitchers.html

In Baltimore, the PRR used those tractors in the incredibly tight industrial district quarters. In the same situation and city the B&O used its famous 0-4-0T Little Joes.

At Vancouver (BC)'s Granville Island shopping area, I found tracks in the streets, no longer used, that were of almost toy train sharp curve radius. To me they looked like they served warehouses and were not old streetcar tracks. If they were for a freight railroad, I do not know what engine was used there but it too must have been specially suited.

Dave Nelson

aww and here i thought it was Lady Gaga’s first train lol thanks for the info guys

SOme of those street tractors were battery powered electric, too. The steering wheel in the bigger one in that picture was like a ship’s wheel, not a car or truck wheel. Not sure why.Maybe easier to handle standing up.

THe dock pushers, there’s one at the RR Museum of PA, sitting outside, unrestored as of yet.

–Randy

Usually when you see a large steering wheel it’s because there is no power steering. The large wheel gives you more leverage.

I stand corrected. They were Atlas Car Co. products, used GE equipment in them and weighed in at 40 ton. They are illustrated in the 1950-1953 Locomotive Cyclopedia.

Paul

Hewlett unloader. They had those in Toledo at Lakefront Docks and Presqui Isle. I have been up close to those also, but never rode in the operator cab that is out on the end of the shovel. My father who went to WWII in europe working on the railroad as an army Sergeant and he says many of the warehouses and businesses had a turntable in front of them, and they would spot cars on the turntable, give it the old 90 degree armstrong turn and push the cars into the building. Of course don’t forget that those vans in europe where four wheeled, and probably only 20’ long. Of course with no roller bearings on the wheels they were still probably a handfull, but that would eliminate the sharp curves going into a warehouse.

Still Paul

Dayton and Mad River RR