HOW TO ANIMATE A PUMP TROLLEY
EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW
They’re often remembered for their comedy value on television and the big screen, but working models are not readily available. Graham Goodchild shows how you can make an animated pump trolley using simple techniques.
The pump trolley is crewed by animated figures, assisted by locomotive power!
PHOTOGRAPHY: GRAHAM GOODCHILD
Pump trolleys first appeared around the 1850s and consisted of a simple wooden platform supported on two sets of wheels and axles. Also called handcars, these human‐powered vehicles were used for track inspections and to transport maintenance crew and materials.
Propulsion was provided by one or two crew pushing and pulling the operating handles, in a see-saw fashion. Power was transferred to a pivoting beam attached to a connecting rod, and on to cog gears fitted to the axles. Brakes, if fitted, were operated by foot or hand and consisted of simple wooden blocks which engaged the wheels.
There are roughly a dozen original pump trolleys remaining in existence in the UK, including one built in 1907 for the Great Eastern Railway, which has subsequently been restored by the Nene Valley Railway Society.