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
MRH-Jan 2014
