I just got some boxcars that have sliding doors. What are reasons to keep a boxcar door open when it’s moving moving? I can understand having the door open when the car was parked in an industry track. However, I’v seen pics of real boxcars with doors open. Does that occur only when the car is empty?
In theory, on the prototype, all doors should be closed on all cars when any car is moved. In practice though some doors may not be closed by the customers, might be improperly latched and roll open or be opened in transit (thieves, transients, inspectors, etc.) Plug doors are particularly bad to leave open because they make the car “wide” and can get scraped off by close clearances.
I saw a UP train yesterday with a very variable consist. Had just about any kind of car you can imagine in it. Included a string of about 6 boxcars with their doors open. All were old SP boxcars than had been patched to another owner. Since all the cars were alike, they were probably coming from a single customer who left doors open. UP may close the doors somewhere down the line.
Open doors on boxcars in transit seemed pretty common in the 1960s as I recall. Of course back then railroads had more employees at yards including those in charge of cleaning and prepping boxcars for customers. And boxcars were in more general service then - now almost all boxcars are for customers who really demand clean and DRY cars.
At times when I see boxcars go by with open doors the explanation for the door is visible: there are folks inside the car!
When cars get old, things can start to work poorly, like doors.
When a car shows up with your load, you have a very good incentive to get the door open, and the car unloaded. Whether or not the door is in good working order.
After the car is empty–little incentive. Plus a bit of anger about having to deal with a door that doesn’t “door”.
On this drawing of an Atlas 5503 boxcar:
those white things at the bottom of the doors are for the prongs of a fork lift to go into to help open the doors. When new on an empty car, hardly necessary. But on an old poorly maintained car it could get problematic. Even more so, if the load shifted against the door.
Once upon a time I loaded boxcars at work. It was not uncommon for us to have to use a chain fall or come-a-long to get a boxcar door open/closed. I’m sure a customer, frustrated from having to fight to open the car, would have been more than happy to let that thing leave with an open door!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. With the metal getting cold, I can just imagine the ease of keeping the doors open. Apparently, there are no standards for keeping the doors open/closed. I might keep them closed, so I don’t have to model the interiors, lol! [:P]
Most of my boxcars have the doors either cemented in-place or they’re an integral part of the car’s body, as is the case with Accurail cars.
On my around-the-room layout, if a car is at an industry being loaded or unloaded, the door being used is not on the side facing the viewer…
…although there are a few places, usually team tracks, where that activity would be visible. The car shown is a Red Caboose X-29, and has one operating door, while the one on the other side is cemented in place…
…and a similar car, but in B&O paint…
Perhaps a hobo’s in this one, simply keeping a low profile…after all, I’m modelling the late '30s…
I have quite a few of these Walthers automobile cars, and put working doors on several of them, rather than gluing them in place. Perhaps the loading crew opened the doors on both sides of the car, just to get some air moving through on a hot summer day…
Here’s another view…
This Tichy car has working doors on both sides, although I usually leave one open and one closed, placing the car on the track to show it as either empty or loaded…
Yep I remember Conrail added those to some of their boxcars back in the 80s because loading and unloading crews were damaging doors by trying to open them with forklifts. Being damaged is another reason why a boxcar door might be open while the car is moving.