Re: Hand-worked track trolleys

["Trevor Staats" <staats@hotmail.com>]

Roderick Smith <rodsmith@werple.net.au> wrote in message
39D97FED.11AD3B0E@werple.net.au">news:39D97FED.11AD3B0E@werple.net.au...
> Extracted from posts to a South African newsgroup, responding to
> requests for nomenclature (for a local dictionary).  What names applied
> in Australia and New Zealand?
>
> What's a handcar in SAThis will go into the dictionary); English and
> Afrikaans please.
> Handcar is a light railway vehicle propelled by cranks or levers, used
> by workers inspecting the track It is marked as being the North American
> term for this vehicle.  It sounded foreign to me (handcar).  What would
> we would call it here?
>
> The agreement was: Gandy Dancer (USA) referred to the track workers, not
> to the trolley.
> Gandy Manufacturing company made tools for use on railroads, especially
> track tools.  The track gang men who used them were referred to as
> "Gandy Dancers" for obvious reasons.
>
> Pump Trolley / Pomptrollie were the correct terms as applied to railways
> in South
> Africa.
>
> "Ganger's Trolley" was a flat trolley without the pump handles but with
> a
> screw-brake device which gangers used in addition to the pump trolley.
> Tese flat trolleys were far more common than the pump trolley.  They
> were propelled by pushing them!
>
> I have ridden on a four-seat hand-propelled trolley of VR design: people
> sat on seats, in opposed pairs, and pushed the hand back & forth in
> front of them.
>
As seen in the "Hard Yakka" advert some years ago...  Did the term "Casey"
only apply to the motorised version?

Trevor.

P.S. Eaten any worms or caterpillars lately Rod?