Jordan Spreader, possibly very much like the one used in construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad
Thanks, Greg Lovelace! Greg did the research that I should have done… Namely, he was able to find a Wikipedia article regarding a railroad “spreader” that Clem was talking about in a few of his diary entries. Here’s the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreader_(railroad)
Thanks again Greg!
I asked my husband if he knew what one was but he never got back to me. 🙂 it is great that we know what it is now.