Dandy cart and horse
The "Dandy Cart" was introduced onto the Stockton & Darlington Railway around 1828, at a time when there existed a shortage of locomotives on the line. By this method a horse would pull the waggons along the flat and up inclines, and on reaching the top of a down gradient, the horse was detached and trained to jump into the dandy cart which was attached to the back of the coal waggons, consequently it received a ride down the gradient and a well earned rest. At the next level the process was repeated and a great saving of horsepower resulted. Between Shildon and Stockton, it was a descending gradient and a horse, with its 4 loaded trucks of almost 12 tons of coal, and an overall weight of 17 tons, was able to ride a major part of the journey instead of trotting alongside the trucks. This improved the productivity by upto one third and resulted in an improvement in the condition of the horses.
