Cart wheel control for hoistway car

In combination, a vertical hoistway, a car guided for vertical movement in the hoistway, a cart on the car, the car being adapted to receive and discharge the cart along a line of movement, the cart being supported on front and rear wheels including a castored swivel set adjacent one end of the cart, the swivel wheels being of the type that make contact with a support surface at a point offset from a generally vertical swivel axis, the car having a generally horizontal platform of a size sufficient to underlie the front and rear wheels of the cart, the platform including surface means adapted to support the swivel wheels at respective contact points offset from associated swivel axii when the cart is fully received on the platform, said surface means being shiftable laterally of said line of movement when the cart is fully received on the platform, said shiftable surface means being adapted to shift laterally with a lateral component of swivel movement of said swivel wheels and said platform being arranged to permit such swivel movement, whereby such swivel wheels are allowed to swivel about their respective axii to reverse castor directions between loading and unloading cart movement without lateral shifting of the car, said shiftable surface means including an inclined area supported on bearing means, said bearing means being arranged to reduce resistance of said area to move laterally, the inclination of said area permitting gravity to promote swiveling of said swivel wheels when said area moves laterally.