In 1817 a German, Baron Ludwig Drais von Sauerbronn, invented a two-wheeled vehicle that was propelled by the rider's running feet. Three-wheeled versions of the Draisine were adapted for use on rails. These adaptations came to be known as handcars because they were propelled by pumping a set of hand levers.
In 1783, George S. Sheffield filed U.S. Patent 264481 in the first application for a rail handcar in the United States. Like the Draisine, it used a three-wheel configuration to ride on railroad tracks.
A handcar with four wheels was patented in the United States in 1883 by R.H. Johnson under patent No. 270678. The rocker arms that provided power could be operated by one or two men. Since that time, section crews have relied upon the dependable handcar to inspect and maintain the nation's rails.
Around 1893, the Sheffield Velocipede Co. created the first crude motor-driven handcar. Fairbanks-Morse purchased Sheffield Co. and developed several models of the motorized handcars, which they called speeders.
Handcars have become a railroad hobby with men and women all over the country. Handcars are sought out, refurbished and in many places actually raced against a clock.
