Originally these were used by section men to check their
section of track. By the time I remember riding on the one
at Glenwood the section, crews all had the Fairmont Motor
"safety first speeders” so they could cover more track in less
time and carry track tools with them.
I found that if you do a ‘Search’ for “Sheffield Velocipede” you
could read all night long. Here is a web page showing a res-
toration of one of these in California.
The model
The O scale kit is a straightforward white-metal casting that
Keith Wiseman makes in his own shop. They are much too fine
and delicate to try to solder together, so I assembled mine
using ACC gap-filling PS-2. The kit goes together without any
problems, and all the parts fit very nicely together.
I found the isometric drawing to be a little confusing, espe-
cially the drill sizes to use for the locating pins and various axle
holes. The kit has two sizes of wire – .016" and .033". Other
than one note stating to drill a #76 hole for the guide arm
Sheffield Velocipede - 1
Turn of the century
MOW equipment ...
T
he Sheffield Velocipede was invented by a Michigan
farmer named George S. Sheffield in 1879. The
contraption was used by a number of railroads,
including the Soo Line. I distinctly remember riding on one
of these as a kid in the late 1940s on the RIP track of the
Glenwood Minnesota division point of the MSt.P&SSM,
where my dad worked as a brakeman. The pedals and mov-
ing handle bars were what powered it, and it worked so well
that an 8-year-old could operate it. Manufacturing rights
were sold to Fairbanks-Morse in 1888 and the machine was
made by them for the rest of its life.
Sheffield Velocipede
-Ray & Renee Grosser, MMR
Photos by the authors
1: 1879 edition, Car-Builders’ Dictionary
1
MRH-Jan 2014
