As part of my duties, I do a lot of research work. Here is the first major report I worked on to be emailed to our museum's members. The topic became interesting to me when I noticed how little information we had on the velocipedes in the yard.
In the early days of railways when construction crews, passengers or track inspectors needed to move quickly along the tracks, most people traveled by foot, bicycle, or handcart, a bulky device which required drivers to stand and took considerable strength to propel.
The invention of the velocipede changed things. Velocipedes are a lightweight, 1-2 passenger kind of draisine or light rail vehicle that typically runs on three wheels, two on the driver’s side rail and one on the opposite rail to improve balance. The term velocipede is French for “fast-foot” and was also applied to early bicycles in the hobby-horse style. There is evidence that railway velocipedes were first used around 1860, but George S. Sheffield is credited with their invention because he produced the largest number of velocipedes after gaining a patent in 1879.
Sheffield worked as a railway mechanic in Michigan, U.S.A., but lived on a farm 7 miles from the nearest station and found the walk home after work unendurable. His solution was to build a three-wheeled wooden scooter which could be driven in a seated position using both the arms and legs.
Sheffield’s machine was kept secret at first since he was unauthorized to use the track, but one night as he was driving it he discovered a broken rail. Sheffield stopped the next freight train using a neighbor’s lantern and his new method of rail travel was exposed. Recognizing the uses for his invention, Sheffield acquired a patent and published his story in the prominent magazine Scientific American. He went on to sell 4000 vehicles in the next four years, when he sold his famous velocipede line to Fairbanks Scale Company.
Image: SP&S Ry Web Museum. http://www.fallenflags.com/velocipede5.asp
Velocipedes were popular because their size and light weight made them maneuverable and easy to pull off the track when trains approached. They were also convenient, with a removable third wheel for easy storage. They were the favorite vehicles of many railway section-masters, whose job required them to inspect long sections of railway track for damage. Because the velocipede sat close to the ground, the driver was better able to see problems on the rails.
In the last years of the 1800s, speeder cars powered by gasoline were introduced to make rail maintenance even faster. Velocipedes were still sold by the Fairbanks Company until 1947, when speeder cars eventually made them obsolete. Today, however, many groups around the world buy and restore these peculiar vehicles for collectors and re-enactments, including velocipede races.
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