Railroad Jack?

[pritch]

I've had this jack for more years than I care to remember, I'm not even sure where it came from. I call it "Ol' Useless". I have a friend that used to work for the U.P., and he calls it a railroad jack, but he says it's half-size, that RR jacks are 10 ton and mine is 5 ton.







It is exactly the wrong size for any and every project. Just today, I had a heavy load of scrap iron in my truck and I needed to unhook my trailer, but I couldn't get the trailer jack down and locked, so I dug out Ol' Useless to jack up the trailer some so I could get the leg down, and of course, it was 1 click too short. 10 inches of travel and that's either too much or not enough.

[Ietech]

Maybe it was for narrow gauge railroad, or mining ore cars. The tracks were narrower.  Maybe to control the center of gravity of the train the diameter of the wheels was smaller, the height of the cars was smaller, thus the distance to the ground below the train would be reduced to less than standard gauge.

Just a thought tho - really don't know.
Rich

Edit: I Googled the Simplex 85a 5 ton and yes it is a RR jack.  If it was an 86a 5 ton it would go higher than 10"
Quote: Simplex ratchet jacks are widely used in oil fields, shipyards, mining operations, construction, railroads, and heavy-duty industrial maintenance.
http://www.jackxchange.com/products/84A.cfm

[john k]

If one were to set it on a wood block, it would easily jack up a tractor axle.  I have a ten ton, sure wish mine had a carry handle.  Also be good to jacking up a temporary building, on skids, for instance.

[anglesmith]

In early days they also use  these to lift up the track to take out a sleeper (tie) or pack under sleepers with a beater pick.
Graeme

[pritch]

Yeah-I'm too hard on it. I have used it many times, usually dangerously, like jacking up a roof or floor joists on re-models and things. It just seems like for most household and automotive purposes, it's just wrong. Either too tall to go under or too short to lift enough.

[anglesmith]

I ment also to ask where abouts you are, it looks very dry? I hope  you have had some rain since the photo was taken!
Graeme.

[Neals]

Never seen one with a handle like that. I've seen and used no carry handle ones, a different handle and aluminium ones all marked Simplex. The aluminum are less than 1/2 the weight and for that reason my favorite.

[pritch]

We have been having a very dry winter, anglesmith. I took those pictures yesterday, today there is a good 4" of wet, heavy snow in the yard. If you don't like the weather here, just wait five minutes!

[geneg]

Generically, it is a railroad jack.  That's what I've called them & heard them called that for all of my life.  When I won a 12" tall one at an auction, I called it that and one of the old boy tool collectors said that it was a foot jack.  If its yours, call it what you want.   I've used mine for vehicles, buildings, tractors, farm equipment, jackstands and about every other jack use except railroad work.  I'll try to get some shots of mine tomorrow.  Seems like I can't pass one up at an auction or tag sale.

[kxxr]

I'm sure they had other uses, but as late as 1978 these kind of jacks were used to lift rail; ties and all, in order to re-tamp the ballast underneath a sinking tie or string of ties. As already mentioned, a damaged tie can be unspiked and pulled out with tie tongs and replaced once you have the whole works lifted with one of these jacks. Grueling work. The tamping bar also served as the jack handle. I'm sure they are still in use for this purpose on small jobs, even on main line.

[Aunt Phil]

It's a Simplex ratchet jack.
RR Jack -v- Toe Jack is determined by how the jack lowers.

With the jack extended placing the lever in DOWN position a Toe Jack will pump down one notch at a time carrying the load.

The RR model the jack extended placing the lever in DOWN position the first stroke of the handle will drop the load to the bottom of the jack in one motion.

It's always good to know which model you're working with.

If you find out in a hurry it can be painful & expensive.

[Neals]

Great info Aunt Phil that I didn't know. All I have used were toe jacks.

[Lewill2]

I have 2 that are maybe 10 - 15 years old. I bought them new for moving machinery around. With the lever in the right position and the jack arm in the correct position the jack will collapse all the way, but it won't do that with a load on it.  With the lever in either the up or down position you can ratchet up or down by single notches. I forget who made mine. I have heard them called railroad jacks, house jacks and toe jacks. My Grand Father used to have a set and he called them house jacks.