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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.