Railroad Tools Big & Small

[AntiqueBen]

Nothing draws more attention than a giant oversized tool. I've always been fascinated by them. These are the big oversized tools that helped build our country's industry. Whether it was bridges, subways, skyscrapers, industrial engine rooms or the Railroad....big tools were required to finish these accomplishments. Myself, I've always been interested in Railroad tools. Not just because there are some enormous railroad tools, but also because of the role the railroad played in kick starting American Industry.

These different industries didn't make there own tools. There were many different manufacturers that forged these tools dating back to the early & mid 1800's like Bemis & Call, Coes & many others. My Dad was an engineer & worked in a plant. He told me many stories, like the wrench that required 3 men to use & how they moved it around in a large wheelbarrow.

If you've got a giant wrench, ratchet, vise or any big oversized tool used by the Railroad or any other large industrial setting....this is the place to post it. Post your pics or any information you know about them. Post any vintage pics of railroad workers using these tools too. Those are always fun to see. Also, post your smaller Railroad stamped tools that were used by the Railroad as they also played an important role too.
But, if it's BIG....post it here.

I'll start off with a few of my big monkey wrenches & pipe tongs, likely used by the Railroad.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here's a Railroad chap holding his big wrench over his shoulder.

 

[four.cycle]

1935 Shapleigh Hardware catalog Railroad Rail Tongs Spike Pullers Track Gauges ad pp 56


1935 Shapleigh Hardware catalog Railroad Track Wrench Rail Fork Locomotive Pinch Bar ad pp 55

1903 Schwabacher Hardware Co. catalog railroad tools pp 66

1901 Logan-Gregg Hardware co catalog STS Railroad Rail Tongs and Wrench ad pp 157

 

[four.cycle]

Advance / Advance Car Mover Co., Appleton, WI / "Badger" "Never-Slip" "Power-King" railroad car mover /


1939 J. Jacob Shannon & Do. catalog Advance Car Mover Badger Never Slip Power King ad pp 261

1939 Marshall Wells Co. catalog Buda Paulus Advance Badger Samson ad pp 414

 

[four.cycle]

A.T. Co. / A.T. Co. / railroad tools /

(* have not figured out what "A.T." stands for, nor their location or dates of operation. *)


1890s Dunham Carrigan & Hayden Co. catalog Vaughan & Bushnell A.T. Co. ad pp 650

1905 Whiton Hardware Co. catalog A.T.Co. ad pp 24

 

[AntiqueBen]

Advance / Advance Car Mover Co., Appleton, WI / "Badger" "Never-Slip" "Power-King" railroad car mover /


1939 J. Jacob Shannon & Do. catalog Advance Car Mover Badger Never Slip Power King ad pp 261

1939 Marshall Wells Co. catalog Buda Paulus Advance Badger Samson ad pp 414

Awesome ads 4C. It's so cool to see these. I like how the one ad sells the tool by the lb.

 

[four.cycle]

Handlan Buck / Handlan Buck Mfg. Co., 4519 Ridgewood Ave., St. Louis, MO / est. 1856 defunct 1990s / "Beland" "Champion" "Noble" "Paulus" "Waterman" track drill / patent 205927 Jul 9 1878 Flavius Josephus Underwood / see also Springfield Wagon Co., see also Flavius Josephus Underwood / http://www.railroadiana.org/library/pgCat_HandlanFinal.php /


1911 Engineering Directory Handlan-Buck Mfg. Co

 

[four.cycle]

Walker / Walker Wrench Co., Sing Sing, NY / "Walker's Steel Railroad Wrench" / patent 158548 Jan 5 1875 Benjamin L. Walker /

US Patent: 158,548 - Wrenches

US patent 158,548 Wrenches was issued to Benjamin L. Walker of Sing Sing, NY. It was granted on 01/05/1875. The shank with the fixed jaw has an offset between the hollow handle and adjusting nut. The movable jaw has a loop that slides on the flat shank, and

datamp.org

 

[four.cycle]

Lovejoy / Lovejoy Tool Works, 335 Ohio St., Chicago, IL / "Beland" track drill / patent 186225 Jan 16 1877 Louis Beland /


1890s Dunham Carrigan & Hayden Co. catalog Keystone Weston Lovejoy Beland Lowell IXL track drill ad pp 762

 

[ararat]

Woodings and Verona spike driver.

 

[four.cycle]

Buda / Buda Co., Chicago, IL (formerly Buda Foundry & Mfg. Co., Buda, IL) / est. 1881 / "Paulus" track drill, "Liberty" grinder / patent 428516 May 20 1890 Aaron R. Paulus & patent 613748 Nov 8 1898 Joseph A. Wilson & 1175556 Mar 14 1916 Frederick E. Place & Merrill L. Jenkins / http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=4645 / https://mycompanies.fandom.com/wiki/Buda_Company /


1901 Logan-Gregg Hardware co catalog Ashcroft Buda Crerar Adams Gracey Keystone Millers Falls ad pp 158

1908 Simmons Hardware Co. catalog Buda Paulus ad pp 486B

1910 Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Co. catalog Buda Paulus Jumbo Lowell IXL track drill ad pp 1400

1910 Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Co. catalog Buda Wilson ad pp 1399

1921 MacRae's Blue Book Buda ad pp 86

1921 MacRae's Blue Book Buda ad pp 385

1939 Marshall Wells Co. catalog Buda Paulus Advance Badger Samson ad pp 414

 

[ararat]

NYCRR hewing hatchet

 

[four.cycle]

Crerar Adams / Crerar Adams & Co., 239-259 E. Erie St., Chicago, IL / est. 1858 inc. 1890 / succeeded by Adams Westlake Co. / "Paulus" track drill / patent 428516 May 20 1890 Aaron R. Paulus & 1695062 Dec 11 1928 Robert Rostron / https://chicagology.com/rebuilding/rebuilding163/ / https://uindy.edu/cas/mathematics/oaks/articles/lhanuteletters / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Crerar_(industrialist) / https://chicagology.com/rebuilding/rebuilding163/ /

(* catalog ad see post #11 *)

 

[AntiqueBen]

NYCRR hewing hatchet

I have a few NYCRR tools, but I've never seen a hatchet. Very nice!

 

[four.cycle]

Lowell / Lowell Wrench Co., 54 Commercial St., Worcester MA / see Lowell Corp. / "IXL" track drill / patent 166553 Aug 10 1875 Leonard L. Pollard & 1798194 Mar 31 1931 John H. Dodge / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/lowell-wrench-co-worcester-mass-1.319549/ /

(* IXL track drill catalog ad see post #9 *)


1910 Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Co. catalog Buda Paulus Jumbo Lowell IXL track drill ad pp 1400

1930 Construction Methods Lowell Wrench Co. ad pp 115

 

[AntiqueBen]

Lowell / Lowell Wrench Co., 54 Commercial St., Worcester MA / see Lowell Corp. / "IXL" track drill / patent 166553 Aug 10 1875 Leonard L. Pollard & 1798194 Mar 31 1931 John H. Dodge / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/lowell-wrench-co-worcester-mass-1.319549/ /

(* IXL track drill catalog ad see post #9 *)


1910 Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Co. catalog Buda Paulus Jumbo Lowell IXL track drill ad pp 1400

1930 Construction Methods Lowell Wrench Co. ad pp 115

Lowell Wrench Company is one of my favorites. I'll be posting some really big Lowell ratchets on here at some point.

 

[four.cycle]

Underwood / Flavius Josephus Underwood, Springfield, Greene County, MO / track drill, others / patent 85412 Dec 29 1868 & RE 4665 Dec 12 1871 & 205927 Jul 9 1878 Flavius Josephus Underwood / see also patent 186225 Jan 16 1877 Louis Beland / see Rumsey and others vs. Buck May 30 1884 https://cite.case.law/f/20/697/ , see Underwood vs. Warren Sep 17 1884 https://cite.case.law/f/21/573/ / https://thelibrary.org/lochist/history/paspres/underwof.html / see Springfield Wagon Co., see Handlan Buck Mfg. Co. /


Underwood Families of America 1913 pp 79

 

[four.cycle]

Lowell Wrench Company is one of my favorites. I'll be posting some really big Lowell ratchets on here at some point.

I didn't post any of the "ratchet" pages in this thread. I believe there is another "Lowell" thread that I posted those in already.

That's everything tagged "railroad" or "track drill" that I have currently. You guys start posting stuff and something else will click.
I am not going to post all the catalog pages for HAMMERS in this thread because there are simply too many of them. I have almost all of them them tagged "striking tools" in the list. Many of them have already been posted here somewhere.

I knew there was a reason I had all these files collecting dust in various folders.... they were just lookin' for a home... like that Boll Weevil.

Looks like I forgot all about "Jack" here we go:

 

[four.cycle]

Pettibone / Pettibone Mulliken & Co., 188 & 190 Washington St., Chicago, IL / "Jenne" track jack, "Union" track tools /


1887 Official Railway List Pettibone Mulliken & Co. (Chicago IL) pp 88

1903 Schwabacher Hardware Co. catalog Jenne jack ad pp 67

1937 Crerar Adams & Co. catalog Jenne Joyce Cridland jack ad pp 56

 

[ararat]

Not a tool but a good book on the Southern Railway. My grandfather worked for them.

 

[ararat]

NC Transportation Museum

NC Transportation Museum

www.nctransportationmuseum.org

NC transportation museum is a great place to look at trains and tools. There are displays of some of the tools and you can look into the repair shop where they are actively restoring some locomotives.

 

[AntiqueBen]

NC Transportation Museum

NC Transportation Museum

www.nctransportationmuseum.org

NC transportation museum is a great place to look at trains and tools. There are displays of some of the tools and you can look into the repair shop where they are actively restoring some locomotives.

That would be cool to see what they are doing to some of the trains in the repair shop.

 

[ararat]

Woodings-Verona Tool Works Catalogue 16 : Woodings-Verona Tool Works : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

82 p., illus., 24.4 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Some railroad tools in the Woodings-Verona catalog

 

[MushCreek]

I have a 15 ton Simplex 'railroad jack'. Not sure if it was actually used by a RR or not. I also have an old monkey wrench with a RR stamped on it, but it's buried in a box somewhere, and I don't remember what RR it is from. Cool old catalog pics!

 

[d42jeep]

Here are several tools marked SP Co (Southern Pacific)
-Don
Champion deArment (Channellock) ball pein hammer
Williams adjustable wrench hand engraved
Faintly marked Crescent lineman’s pliers
Williams Bulldog wrench

 

[MShaw]

listing of railroad gages made by Pratt & Whitney gage division. From a 1958 catalog. Including the complete list of gages.

 

[SkyPuncher]

 

[SkyPuncher]

And an old Hubbard railroad wrench leaning up on the press.

 

[MShaw]

Templeton Kenley Simplex railroad jacks I purchased used in 1964. 5 ton and 12 ton. The 5 ton has a homemade replacement top cap.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here's a line-up of some big ratchets, some of which I know was used on the Railroad because of who I acquired them from. I'll eventually post a pic of my monster 50" Lowell ratchet used by the infamous Sandhogs. I still have it soaking to try & loosen up the mechanism.

 

[Zrxrunner]

My recent Duff no. 5. Not sure of ton rating, but big ol sucker!! I'll try n get pics of railcar mover with handle n some ratchets tomorro

 

[AntiqueBen]

My recent Duff no. 5. Not sure of ton rating, but big ol sucker!! I'll try n get pics of railcar mover with handle n some ratchets tomorro

That's a nice jack. It's an oldie too. Patented in 1884.

US Patent: 293,400 - Lifting-jack

US patent 293,400 Lifting-jack was issued to Josiah Barrett of Allegheny, PA. It was granted on 02/12/1884.

www.datamp.org

 

[AntiqueBen]

My recent Duff no. 5. Not sure of ton rating, but big ol sucker!! I'll try n get pics of railcar mover with handle n some ratchets tomorro

Here's an ad from 1895 on your jack. It says 10-15 tons & used by Railroads.

 

[four.cycle]

Duff / Duff Mfg. Co., Pittsburgh, PA / automotive and railroad jack / patent 293400 Feb 12 1884 & RE 10574 Mar 24 1885 & 312316 Feb 17 1885 Josiah Barrett & 1093269 Apr 14 1914 Isaiah E. Hindman / http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=5234 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ile-paraphernalia.434289/page-24#post-9820754 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ile-paraphernalia.434289/page-24#post-9832002 /


1904 Automobile Trade Journal Barrett Duff jack ad pp 204

1917 Pacific Hardware & Steel Co. catalog Duff Barrett Jack ad pp 415

1920 Automotive Trade Journal Duff Jack ad pp 211

1922 Marshall Wells Co. catalog Duff jack ad pp 407


1926 Duff Mfg. Co. ad pp

1930 Union Hardware & Metal Co. catalog Blackhawk Duff Norton jack ad pp 566

1931 Duff Norton Mfg. Co. ad pp 85

 

[1320]

Lowell 2-3/8" Ratcheting wrench

 

[four.cycle]

1937 C.M McClung catalog Duff Norton Joyce Cridland Templeon Henly Simplex jack ad pp 114

1938 H. Channon Co. catalog Blackhawk Duff Joyce Norton jack ad pp 679

1938 H. Channon Co. catalog Blackhawk Duff Joyce Norton jack ad pp 679

Duff Automotive Jack (patent 1093269)(catalog image from archive.org)

 

[AntiqueBen]

Lowell 2-3/8" Ratcheting wrench

Nice Ratchet. Let me know if you ever want to get rid of it

 

[wrenchguy]

heres a w&b rr car wrench i been trying to figure out what company the "PS in keystone" relates to. i think it relates to Pennsylvania rr system, but i see more prr markings for that line. i don't know why its called a car wrench.
i have alot of rr tools, they don't seem to have much interest to collectors. (cheap&more 4 me)

 

[wrenchguy]

EDIT, MAY NOT BE AS POSTED, IN DISCUSSION.

found it,
PS = PITTSBURG & SHAWMUT RAILROAD according to "railroad reporting marks" online data base.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here's a few more Railroad stamped tools. A couple Bemis & Call's marked B&O, another L&N RR Co and a W&B Railroad Special.