Since 1991, Folsom, El Dorado, and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association has hosted the annual Folsom Handcar Derby on the former Southern Pacific Placerville Branch, where local businesses, groups, and charities compete to get their handcar across the finish line in the fastest time.
The event also features competitions for individual strength and endurance, and it’s the only known event in the world to feature quadripede racing!
The event currently takes place along East Bidwell Street at Broadstone Parkway in front of Broadstone Marketplace.
Our official racing handcars are provided for time trials & racing.
Each team is comprised of 5 members: 4 pumpers and 1 pusher. The pusher pushes the handcar into motion at the beginning of the track, and then the pumpers take over and pump the handcar to the end of the track.
Pushers Contest
Each team’s pusher will automatically be entered in the pushers contest on Sunday. Pushers are placed in weight divisions and compete on how far they can push an empty handcar down the track with a single push.
Quadripede Racing
Divisions
Division
Rookie
General
Elite
Masters
Open Teams are divided into weight classes. No more than two team members that were part of past first place team in the last three years are allowed.
X
X
X
Coed At least 2 team members must be women.
X
X
X
X
Women All team members must be women.
X
X
Seniors All team members must be 55 years old or older.
X
Elite All team members must be past first place medal winners from the Folsom Handcar Derby or other handcar races.
X
Masters All team members must be 40 years of age or over.
X
Awards/Medals
Award medals will be presented to the first, second & third place teams of each of the divisions. Pusher Contest medals will be given to the top three distances in all divisions.
Schedule (2020)
The race takes place along East Bidwell Street at Broadstone Parkway in front of Broadstone Marketplace.
Saturday, May 2
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Registration/Practice/Qualifying Teams get practice, trial time run, and safety training on handcar. All teams from each division running trial runs will advance to the finals.
Team Photos
Sunday, May 3
8:30am
Pushers Practice Time
9:00am
Pusher’s Contest
9:45am – 10:00am
Opening Ceremony
10:00am
Handcar Racing
1:00pm
Quadripede Racing
2:00pm
Gandy Dancer Walk*
2:30pm
Handcar Tug-A-War*
3:00pm – End
*Events & times subject to change
Award Ceremony/Photos Awards will be presented to the first and second place teams of each of the nine divisions when at least 4 teams are entered in that division. Pusher Contest awards will be given to the top three distances in all divisions.
Teardown All teams are included. It’s an event tradition!
Fees
Entry fee is $25.00 per person for the 5 member team (total $125.00).
The first 20 teams entered will receive a short-sleeve Folsom Handcar Derby t-shirt (5 shirts per team, $3.00 extra for each XXL or larger shirt).
Quadripede racing is $10.00 per person per race. Two people are required to race.
Pushers Contest is $5.00 per person (if not already a pusher for a team)
Rules & Safety
Please refer to the rules below for each event you are planning to participate in:
Folsom Handcar Derby
Overview
Since 1991, Folsom, El Dorado, and Sacramento Historical Railroad Association has hosted the annual Folsom Handcar Derby on the former Southern Pacific Placerville Branch, where local businesses, groups, and charities compete to get their handcar across the finish line in the fastest time.
The event also features competitions for individual strength and endurance, and it’s the only known event in the world to feature quadripede racing!
The event currently takes place along East Bidwell Street at Broadstone Parkway in front of Broadstone Marketplace.
Handcar Racing
Each team is comprised of 5 members: 4 pumpers and 1 pusher. The pusher pushes the handcar into motion at the beginning of the track, and then the pumpers take over and pump the handcar to the end of the track.
Pushers Contest
Each team’s pusher will automatically be entered in the pushers contest on Sunday. Pushers are placed in weight divisions and compete on how far they can push an empty handcar down the track with a single push.
Quadripede Racing
Divisions
Teams are divided into weight classes. No more than two team members that were part of past first place team in the last three years are allowed.
At least 2 team members must be women.
All team members must be women.
All team members must be 55 years old or older.
All team members must be past first place medal winners from the Folsom Handcar Derby or other handcar races.
All team members must be 40 years of age or over.
Awards/Medals
Award medals will be presented to the first, second & third place teams of each of the divisions. Pusher Contest medals will be given to the top three distances in all divisions.
Schedule (2020)
The race takes place along East Bidwell Street at Broadstone Parkway in front of Broadstone Marketplace.
Saturday, May 2
Teams get practice, trial time run, and safety training on handcar. All teams from each division running trial runs will advance to the finals.
Team Photos
Sunday, May 3
*Events & times subject to change
Awards will be presented to the first and second place teams of each of the nine divisions when at least 4 teams are entered in that division. Pusher Contest awards will be given to the top three distances in all divisions.
Teardown
All teams are included. It’s an event tradition!
Fees
Rules & Safety
Please refer to the rules below for each event you are planning to participate in:
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Race Results
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