While on the phone today with a client (they are involved with coal mining in Kentucky) she mentioned they almost got run over by a mantrip today.  Since a mantrip sounded like something that it isn’t, I asked for more information and they were nice enough to take a couple of photos.

From Wikipedia:

A mantrip is a shuttle for transporting miners down into an underground mine at the start of their shift, and out again at the end. Mantrips usually take the form of a train, running on rails and operating like a cable car, but mantrips may also be self-powered, for example by a diesel engine. Other types of mantrips do not require a track and take the form of a pickup truck running on rubber tires.

Because many mines have low ceilings, mantrips tend to have a reduced height.

So, basically it is like a low riding golf cart where you can really lean back to avoid hitting your head on the ceiling of the mine.

Here’s the stealthy electric version that almost ran them over:

And the larger diesel powered mantrip that is used at the beginning and end of the shifts:

So while you are having your next “man trip” to the local hardware store, you can now add the word mantrip to your vocabulary and impress your friends.