Handcars and Track Maintenance Cars
#740 Handcar, the first version, which was made only in 1952.
(This is a picture I took of a car in Jack Larson's collection.)
#740 Handcars made later in 1952 had this colorful decal in place of the black lettering.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
My #740 Handcar, the third version, made from 1953 to 1954, had vent holes near the top.
The #741 is a #740 like this with a #585 Tool Shed modified to allow the handcar to enter on a track.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
#740A handcar from the #5300T Miners Work Train set, with vent holes, made in 1953&1954.
(Photo courtesy of Keith Kuzma)
#5300T Miners Work Train made from 1953 to 1954.
(This is a picture I took of Jack Larson's set.)
#742 reversing handcar made in 1955 & 1956.  Note the shield with no stripes.
It had a black rod protruding out from the near side.
When the handcar ran into something, it pushed in the rod and reversed direction.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
#23743 Track Maintenance Car made from 1960 to 1964.
(This is a picture I took of a car in Jack Larson's collection.)
After collecting a few other pictures, I noticed that Jack's operator is wearing a darker suit than other
operators.  Jack reports "My track maintenance man was on vacation (that means I couldn't find him)
so the my sawmill man was pulling double duty."  The real driver wears turquoise as below.
An extremely rare version numbered simply 743 was also made.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)
Be aware that there are reproductions out there numbered simply 743.
(Photos courtesy of Jerry Poniatowski.)


This was made by Bill Parr who runs a hobby supply business in Langhorne, PA,
phone 215-757-1034.
You'll see his ads in S Gaugian magazine.

To make sure noone mistook it for the real thing, he molded the word "REPRO" into the plastic near a wheel.  You just need to know where to look.

Also, it is driven by a modern can motor and different gearing than the Gilbert original.
So if you see a "rare 743" for sale, look underneath!
The picture below shows what the Gilbert car looks like underneath:
(Photo courtesy of Jack Larson.)
#48078 Commemorative Handcar and Shed made in 2009.
(Picture from the Lionel online catalog.)
#49815 Reversing Handcar and Shed, Lionel's remake of the #741, made in 2004 & 2005.
(Picture from the Lionel online catalog.)

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If you or your friends have some American Flyer trains and would like them to go to a nice home where they'll be loved and cared for, this is the place!  Email me: theupstairstrain@gmail.com.  See my Wish List for the items I need most.  Thank you very much.

On the other side of the coin, I post pictures from time to time on my For Sale page of surplus items I have for sale.
This gallery will continue to grow and become more comprehensive as I collect more cars and as visitors send me pictures of the cars I don't yet have.  If you have a car that you would like to share with the world, email me a picture:   theupstairstrain@gmail.com.  Click here for a list of the pictures I need to complete the Gallery.

The books I am using for reference are listed in the Bibliography page.  All the writing and all the pictures on this website are, however, my own, except where cited.  No copyrighted materials have been included and all pictures provided by others are used by permission.

Now show me:

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