Hello Folks,

What was the common practice for the location of a Hand car shed, especially on the Chesapeake&Ohio RR system? On a strategic point along the right-of-way, in the near of a yard or train station or both or in the train station?

Hope anybody can help.

As of now, I built a Hand car shed from wood, the Tichy Train Group plastic kit is my master pattern. Pics will follow!

Greetings from Bavaria
Marco

I can think of 2 in Canada.
Perth was located at one end of the platform, on the opposite side from the station, almost right opposite the water tower. (1950s)
Brampton had one located on the same side as the station (grade problems opposite) but on a spur which originally went around the back of the station, through the parking lot. (1970s ...)

Thank you for the first reply! I think I will locate the shed on my module "Imperial Junction" in the near of the temporary telegraph shed. Photos of this module you will find here: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2099&start=75">viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2099&start=75</a><!-- l -->

Below is the first shot of some parts of the shed. The board and batten construction has been applied on the left and the right wall section. Above are the parts from Tichy Train Group. I don't love plastic (sorry to the folks at Tichy Train Group) and when I have the possibility I replace it with real wood and other "real" materials!

Hi Marco, When hand cars and speeders were still in use each section gang had one and carts that could carry tools. A few small short lines today still use them.
The sections of track maintained by a gang were different lengths, but I would guess 10 miles long so there would be a shed for tool storage, including the hand car. It was always located close to the track and either a boardwalk or rail in place so the car could easily be set on. These hand cars were too heavy for one man to handle unless some provision was made. Speeders were heavier still and used for track inspection too. There was also easy road access of some kind with room for the section gang members to park.
This is a picture that was given to me. It shows the location of one of the section shanty's on the PRR Allegheny line. It was located just off the main on a branch line so the gang could set on and then get permission to use the main. There was also a phone box near by so they could contact the dispatcher.[attachment=16021]

Charlie

I can think of two specific exemples, not C&O related, but confirming what other said.

On Quebec Central's Valley-Junction Station, the hand car shed was integrated to the passenger station, near the freight depot. On QRL&PCo, it was located almost in front of a passenger station directly on the other side of the track. My understanding is that these stations worked as important places on subdivision, thus explaining the reason why a crew would be dispatched there.

Waiting for more informed opinion, I also have the same dilemna on my layout.

Matt

Also consider the size of the town. Perth (see above) was 5200 people. There was another town 12 miles east, about the same size or a bit bigger, but a major junction. Going west, there was nothing substantial (population-wise) for a fair distance. So in times when car ownership was less than universal, the jigger was the way to travel. I think Perth had a shed that could take 3 section cars.

C&O speeder and supply sheds was located near interlocking towers or in yards of small cities and towns and seldom was these sheds in the middle of no where and open to theft since there was thousands of dollars in tools and supplies in each shed.Also the employees would have a safe area to park their cars or in some cases they could walk to work.

IIRC each track gang covered 30 miles and they also used trucks instead of speeders when possible since they could carry more tools and needed supplies.

Thank you all for the replies! Right now, I think I will place the shed on a track of my little yard. Photos of the progress of building the shed will follow!

Greetings
Marco

Hello folks,

right now, here are some photos of my real wood hand car shed! Enjoy:

The floor is ready to install:

Ther floor with the small rails is installed. The rails are N scale

BR60103 Wrote:I can think of 2 in Canada.
Perth was located at one end of the platform, on the opposite side from the station, almost right opposite the water tower. (1950s)
Brampton had one located on the same side as the station (grade problems opposite) but on a spur which originally went around the back of the station, through the parking lot. (1970s ...)

Pictures in Ian Wilson's Steam... series (CNR in Ontario) often showed them on the main (where there was only one track) or on a siding if there was one. They usually were with other utility buildings or structures like the water or coal tower (if present), but always located away from the station.

That's a nice little shed you've got there. Are you going to add any interior details?

David - that's called a house track, and probably pre-dates the parking lot. It would have been used as a siding for loading / unloading. They don't seem to be universal, and seem to be like team tracks, but have the different name for reasons unknown to me... :?:

Andrew

I was under the impression that a house track was where LCL (less than car load) was loaded/unloaded, likely to be a freight house at a depot.
Team track was for unloading car loads at a time.
(Wondering if I have mis understood, as I'm new to American Railroading.)

switcher1 Wrote:I was under the impression that a house track was where LCL (less than car load) was loaded/unloaded, likely to be a freight house at a depot.
Team track was for unloading car loads at a time.
(Wondering if I have mis understood, as I'm new to American Railroading.)

Freight houses would unload boxcars. This is also how many freight houses remained open once LCL traffic dried up.

The modern "freight house" is called a distribution center and operated by a contractor.--all they do is offer rail to truck service and handles boxcars,tank cars,gons,coil cars and covered hoppers.Some have warehousing services.

switcher1 Wrote:I was under the impression that a house track was where LCL (less than car load) was loaded/unloaded, likely to be a freight house at a depot.
Team track was for unloading car loads at a time.
(Wondering if I have mis understood, as I'm new to American Railroading.)

My understanding of team track is that it is/was a "universal" siding for businesses too small or too remote from the station to have their own dedicated siding. These businesses might not be able to unload completely during a station stop, so a team track was provided where their shipment could be left for unloading.

Apparently, the name derives from the track having sufficient space for a "team" (of horses, hitched to a wagon) to pull up.

Andrew