As we wander through the Trike Shed at the museum, a story develops of how life was for the fettlers, gangers, and those that worked on the rails from the past to the present.
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The old fettler's pump trolley, circa 1913, was used by fettling gangs to carry men, tools, and materials to the job. The solid pressed steel wheels were mounted on fixed axles. A five-eighth-inch bolt was attached to a disc on the wheel for the pump handle.
The timber frame deck was made from six-inch by one-inch planks of oregon. Most were unpainted, but some were painted white with black trim. The one on display was reconstructed after the volunteers discovered the wheels and axle in the old Loco Shed area.
Another trolley is the Sheffield Trolley. Manufactured by George Sheffield and Co in Michigan, USA this trolley dates from 1885 to 1895. With the timber frame inside the wheels, the lever crank drives the axle through the gears.
The earlier trolleys had wooden spoked wheels but later were replaced with metal wheels. Both these trolleys relied on manpower and were very limited in the allowable speed.
Long days and hard work were the standard for those employed by the railway.
As conversion from some manual tricycles to motorised tricycles became successful, this flowed onto the lever trolley and push trolleys.
The need for powered track vehicles to transport fettling gangs to remote parts of the state saw the manufacture of the TIC's or Towing Inspection Cars. There are a number of these cars on display with the earliest ones dating back to the 1950s.
Seating capacity at the beginning was limited to two but later TIC's. carried four to six and also towed light gang trailers.
Work for the fettlers and gangers improved from the days when they lived in tents on the line, but still, it meant many hours away from home and working in harsh conditions.
The answers to last week's questions are: Forty-five tonnes of goods can be carried for two hundred and eight kilometres. Twenty adults and 20 children went on the journey.
This week's question is: If one cleaner takes 12 minutes to mop the floor of an office, another takes 15 minutes, and another takes 20 minutes, how long would it take if they all worked together at their normal rate? Remember no calculators!
