Library of Congress - Photo Inspiration

Digging through the archives I came across a collection done by Frank G. Carpenter. This is a varied collection of photos from his travels across the world. Part of this collection includes some images from the Alaskan frontier. Most of these were fairly typical of remote way stations and dog teams pulling sleds across the vast expanses of snow. Then I came across this photo titled 'Dogs Pulling Pupmobile'.

Dogs pulling pupmobile 

Pupmobile?? What in the world is that? Now I was intrigued and had to keep digging. Turns out, before there was steam locomotion they relied on smaller 'tramways' powered by horses, mules, and yes.. even dogs!

This photo completely drew me in. I fell in love with the curious angle of the shot and the wonder it supplied with its simple title. You never do see the infamous pupmobile in this shot, It literally could be anything from a dog-drawn buggy, a modified sleigh, or even a one-man train car we have all seen images of. I had to keep going to finally find a shot of what form this device took.

Bonus pictures: Here was the next tease of the infamous pupmobile. Check out those stylish ladies traveling cross-country via pupmobile!

And finally a side view for those of you still curious!

More information on the pupmobile and other early modes of transportation can be found here: Alaska Railway Technology - Save it for parts