Posted 14 years ago
yoda62
(1 item)
I recently purchased 3 of these wooden carts at auction. The auctioneer said they were railroad carts. I have researched quite a bit online and can not find anything like them. There is no information on the carts themselves. They have 1 swivel caster on each end and 1 stable caster under the front and back. I loved the patina on the wood. Believe they are made out of mahogany and oak. They are very well built. The boards have 4 flathead screws in each board. The screws look as old as the wood. Hoping someone knows what they were really used for. You can only turn the box on each end due to the stable swivels in the front and back. Thought maybe they were mail carts or warehouse carts also. Would appreciate any feedback.
I'm not sure they look like a cart used in a cotton mill or yarn mill to haul spools of yarn to where it is setup to go in the weave room. I use to work in one back when I was 18. WELL A LONG time ago. That wasn't for me AT ALL.
After enlarging the images they look to be made out of red heart pine. Scrap a piece and see if it smells like fat lighter. It will be a strong smell like turpentine. They would stack the yarn two deep and as high as they could. That is why they are cut low in the front. I would think if it was a railroad or warehouse cart it wouldn't have three sides only one or two. hope this helps
Thank you for your information Nascaronmain.com Can you date them? I would love to know a time frame. That is probably what they were used for. My husband's uncle used to be an engineer on a railroad. He never seen them but thought they were early baggage carts. I know they were used to roll stuff around cause the front and back wheels are stationary and the side wheels rotate. Thank you again. Yolanda
I worked in a cotton mill back in the 60's. They are more like the 30' or 40's. They looked old then. If that is what they was used for the bottom rail was so they could start the stack. The grain in the wood differs to much to be oak or mahogany. A lot of houses in South Carolina has that type of floors the older they get the deeper red they turn
Thank you again. I tried looking them up under cotton mill equipment but no luck. I will keep trying to find more information on them. Cannot seem to find any pictures online of these type boxes. I wonder if these boxes had several uses over their lifetime? They called them boxtrucks for hauling the spools back and forth in the mill.