Around 1900

Each platelayer was responsible for a stretch of about three kilometres, which they had to inspect several times a day. It resulted in many long walks, and soon the platelayers began to acquire simple trolleys at their own expense.

The simplest and most common was the "pike wheelbarrow," a platform on three wheels which was pushed along the rails with a pike. The trolley with a drawbar shown here is slightly more advanced.

A bit into the 1900s, the significantly faster and more comfortable bicycle trolley became popular.

In addition to inspection tours, the platelayers used their trolley for errands to the station community and family outings. It was also used to transport hay harvested from the railway embankments to the animals in the barn.

Since the trolley belonged to the platelayer, they were very protective of it. When caught by surprise by a train on the track, they had to quickly tip it off the rails onto the embankment.

But if it was heavily loaded with tools, it could be difficult to do so in time. Several serious accidents occurred with platelayers trying to save their beloved trolleys.

The museum's drawbar trolley likely comes from the Borås region.