Double door 40ft boxcars question

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

Hi

I would like to know if usually 40ft double door boxcars like the ATSF once use to run together with other 40ft double door boxcars from other railroads like RI and MP in the early 1960 ?

Where this boxcars type run in unitrains or mixed as part of normal freight cars traffic ?

thanks very much for your reply

stefano

2

Anyone knows any website where i can work out this info ?

thanks very much

3

In 1960, I don’t think the unit train concept was in use. (A unit train is a complete train traveling under the same waybill - all the cars moved from one shipper to one consignee or receiver.) Double door, 40ft boxcars would have been shipped as individual cars in regular freight trains.

In the US, railroad cars can be interchanged between railroads. It is possible that similar cars from different railroads would all be traveling in the same train. You can find more information on interchange in this post.

Since you seem to be interested in the Santa Fe, check this out: The Santa Fe Historical and Modeling Society. I am sure they can direct you to more information.

4

Thank you very much Dan for your reply i have still a lot to learn

much appreciated

regards

stefano

5

Double door boxcars were often called automobile boxcars, and many had “auto loaders.” Santa Fe sometimes had “auto docks” as part of freight stations, and autoboxes would often be sent there. A bunch might end up together. I have never heard of them being in special dedicated trains, but in regular manifests.

Solid trains of refrigerator cars of produce- yes-- or cuts of refrigerator cars run together in a train so they can all be shuttled to the icing platform at the same time.

Solid trainsloads of coal-- yes. Or ore. Stock cars, maybe.

But autoboxes. I don’t think so. Just imagine a day’s production from a major auto plant. Are they all going to be shipped to the same place? More likely some will go to a distribution point in one city, another bunch to another, and so on. You might have several together in a train. The book Furniture and Automobile Box Cars in the Santa Fe Railway Rolling Stock Reference Series- Vol.3 shows cars of several railroads disgorging autos at the Los Angeles auto dock in 1947.

I am planning a small auto dock as part of the freight station for a port city of 50,000 population on the Santa Fe in 1957. I expect to have an average of one or two autoboxes a day, transported in regular manifest freight trains. There will of course be heavier traffic in “new car year-model season.”

Bilevel and trilevel racks began to replace automobile boxcars in the late 1950s. The double-door cars were in some cases used for automobile PARTS.

6

hi Leighant

Thanks very much for your detailed replay.Very interesting plan and facility you have there i like your idea.

About the ATSF boxcars i am using the one in brown paint scheme Athearn 74901 and 70161 could this boxcars be prototopically compatible to run togheter with other boxcars of other railoroad like MP [athearn 70875]and RI [athearn 70879] ?

thanks again

stefano

7

About the closest thing to that is a few railroads did attempt to do a solid “unit” train of boxcars carrying LCL (Less-than CarLoad - i.e. packages etc.) on a high-speed schedule. New York Central’s “Pacemaker” c.1946 would be an example. However in a short period the boxcars started to intermingle with other freight cars and it wasn’t really a unit anymore.

http://www.ominousweather.com/images1/PacemakerFreights.jpg

8

thanks for your reply and pic Stix

regards

stefano