This is the Girard Handcar floor toy produced in the late twenties. While not as charming as the Popeye handcar it still has charm to spare. What makes these early toys so great is the imagination a kid had to employ in playing with them. Todays toys do everything for you, robbing you of the use of your imagination. This is one of the reasons I don't like sound systems on my trains.



This green framed version of the Girard Handcar is probably a little later than the gray version above.



This detail of the Girard Handcar operator clearly shows the Girard logo on his jeans.

(Courtesy of Barb Jones and Paul Wassermann)