Quote:
Originally Posted by swaghauler
I don't doubt for a second that you could roll such a car with a team of 8 Clydesdales. The Budweiser team routinely pulls 50 tons of rolling weight at a trot without injury. A single Amish Courser will pull a wagon and up to 6 human passengers at a trot without injury (an estimated weight of 2 metric tons with passengers).
Oxen would be the better choice as they do better in rough terrain (do to having a cloven hoof) and can easily drag 3 times their own weight. An ox team of 4 can pull what 8 Clydesdales can pull. Thus, an 8 ox team could easily pull 100 tons of rolling weight. The ox do move slower than horses, however. You will get about 80% of the range of a horse team.
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An enclosed Amish buggy is about half a ton (a buckboard is under 450 pounds), so either those passengers average 500+ pounds each or the weight estimate seems a bit high; the total weight might be under a tonne if there are children or small adults among the six passengers. Charleston, SC has horse-drawn carriages that weigh 1800 pounds empty and carry
16 passengers while staying under 5000 pounds (2.27 tonnes) total draw weight.
Somewhat contradicting my earlier position, Robert Stevenson was of the opinion that a single horse on well-constructed rail on the level could draw ten tons, but that was during a time when the longevity of the horse was not a concern and they'd be worn out within a couple of years. I suspect the rules of thumb I learned were intended to keep the horses' health as a prime concern and load them more lightly than their maximum for that reason.