I believe that

during the plague, a cart was dragged around villages and towns in which to collect the many dead bodies. Therefore if things were going badly, and rather quickly (for example, if everyone was perishing of the plague), then it could be said that one would be going to hell in a hand cart.

I would guess the cart was a bit like a big wheelbarrow.

Posted By: Tricky Hawes, Oct 19, 18:38:33