Question for train buffs.?

Question

What's the technical name for the cart that sits on the tracks, and two people use it, pumping up and down to move it along. I've only seen it on TV.

Answer 1

pump car

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&...

Answer 2

It's called a 'gandy dancer'

Answer 3

The real name is: a HAND CAR. The hand car is a lever operated thing which moves the car down the tracks using a up and down motion much like a piston in an engine to make the motion using a crankshaft in exactly the manner as a piston engine. The difference is the source of the up and down motion.

Answer 4

I have to correct the "Gandy Dancer" term. A Gandy Dancer was a slang for track section men. Most railroads, many years ago bought all their shovels for their track gangs from a shovel manufacturer named Gandy. That's where the term comes from. Don't hear it anymore though. I don't know what happened to the Gandy Company, but it probably disappeared around the same time as hand carts.

Answer 5

It's called a Hand-car.

Answer 6

The technical term is a HAND-CAR.  

If you need more information on the Hand-Car, go to handcar.net, or simply click on the following link.  

This will prevent you from having to evaluate all the other answers for the factual answer.

http://www.handcar.net/

Answer 7

As I understand it, it's called a hand cart.  I know exactly what you're talking about.  You can try a google image search to find out for sure.  Best of luck to you.

Answer 8

A hand car...

Answer 9

My friend, its called a handcar also known as a pump trolley or jigger.