Along the Mary Lee RR
What is this device?
Based on the site visit and the photos, here is what the car must have looked like when in service. The sketch has been simplified somewhat, but gets most of the key items in the picture.
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Sketch of handcar with winch based on photos and field reconnaissance. |
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Based on the above sketch what do you think it was used for?
For context, this relic was found on a "t" track, adjacent to the mainline, in a track segment between two bridges over Five Mile Creek. There are coke ovens in the area, but they are located some distance away, both horizontally and vertically. This track did not serve the coke ovens directly.
It seems that the hand winch has a great mechanical advantage, and could pull a pretty good weight. On the other hand, the car is not that heavy, although a couple of men on the car would have added a couple of hundred pounds or more to the car weight.
Some thoughts from this end:
A maintenance-of-way (MOW) car for lifting debris off the bridge piers after a flood or high water.
A MOW car for light bridge construction or repair.
A car for pulling plug doors from the coke ovens -- doesn't seem plausible.
A "poor man's" tie puller for removing ties from under the track.
There is a large slot in the center of the platform that is worn on the sides. Could this have been used for breaking worn ties in the middle with a "bull bar" by jabbing at them from above? Could the cable have passed over the pulley on the outrigger and then back under to hook onto the end of a worn out tie? How would you grab the tie -- with iron tongs?
Someone out there is likely smarter than me. How do you think this relic was used?
Email Birmingham Rails with your ideas.