For heavy transportation during railway construction, a cutting-edge system with narrow-gauge rails and tipper wagons was introduced shortly after the turn of the century in 1900. The track came in ready-made sections and could be easily assembled where needed. This innovation replaced the so-called “storkärran” (large cart), which had been the navvies’ primary nemesis for half a century.

Storkärran was used for heavy transport and consisted of a wooden box with two large wheels. It was steered by a navvy using a long pole. Two navvies or a horse provided the pulling force in front of the wagon.

The cart rolled on laid-out planks, and the navvy steering had to be careful. It was easy to roll off and tip over the load, and just a small stone in front of one of the wheels was enough to abruptly stop the wagon and throw off its driver.

At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, the French engineer Paul Decauville presented a portable narrow-gauge railway system, now known as the Decauville track. The track functioned as a kit of ready-made sections with a few meters in length. They were easily joined together to form a temporary track. A section was not heavier than one man could move alone.

Tipper wagons were placed on the track, which could be moved without the risk of tipping over, either by hand, horse, or steam locomotive. The Decauville track quickly became world-famous. In Sweden, in addition to railway applications, it was also used in agriculture and various industries. The track gauge was usually 600 millimetres. The tipper wagon in the exhibition is borrowed from the museum association Risten – Lakviks Railway in Östergötland.

Caption: The navvies disliked storkärran. Here we see it filled to the brim.