Would lumber be loaded into a 60’ hy-cube boxcar (specifically something like the Athearn Genesis ICC/outside post box, w/ 12’ door)? And by “lumber” I mean the pre-cut stuff produced at sawmills. 2x4s and the like.
I know it’s loaded (or was back in the early 80s, the timeframe I model) in 50’ cars (as well as flats, etc.), but I don’t know about the 60’ boxcars. Seems like with the additional height and a 12’ door, they’d be ideal for lumber. Anyone have experience with this?
And incidentally, if not lumber, what would a 60’ hy-cube box with 12’ door be used for?
Not likely. Hi-Cubes and extra length cars are usually used to carry large, bulky, but relatively light weight materials, such as appliances or auto parts. Furniture (the built up kind, not Ikea-style kits) would also require the high volume without the weight limitation.
Lumber is very dense, and very heavy. I’m not sure what the weight restrictions are on modern freight cars, but back in the day, boxcars would be rated between 70 and 100 tons. Lumber maxes that out pretty quickly.
I’d think a hy-cube wouldn’t work so well for loading and unloading stick lumber. I guess a “regular” 60’ boxcar might be used for lumber or plywood etc. but in the last 15-20 years it seems to me like lumber products are more often shipped in wrapped bundles on those flatcars with the center divider and “opera windows”.
In the steam era most boxcars were rated in the 40-50 ton range. Modern boxcars are more in the 70-100 ton range. A high cube boxcar might haul lumber or wood products, primarily anything that need protection from the weather. They probably wouldn’t be dimensional lumber (2x4’s) but could be trim, paneling, plywood, flooring, etc. The vast majority of lumber now moves on some form of specialized flatcar (bulkhead or centerbeam).
For example right now, out of about 500 lumber cars sampled today there are at least 2 SP 240000 series cars, 50 ft 70 ton boxcars, an RBOX 20000 series and an ABOX 52000 series plus a CNW 520000 series 12’ 11" IH 100 ton boxcar all loaded with lumber. That’s only about 1% of all the lumber cars in the sample, but lumber boxcars are out there and tall high cap cars carry lumber.
On older logging railroads almost any type of boxcar was used, even hi-cubes, the wider door made it easier to load dimensional lumber, it would seem that because of the height of the car, filling to the ceiling would not be advisable, I filled a model with doors open and it looks great, and the nice part is the interior is hollow as all you see is the first outside row of lumber.