Trap boxcars

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I have the following description. What is a “Trap Boxcar?”

The Chicago North Western Railroad, loaded up LCL on baggage wagons and shoved the whole loaded cart into the Trap boxcars. This allowed the whole cart(s) to be shoved out and another shoved in quickly at a station. So the trap cars didn’t have to be left at a station while the agent and clerks there wrestled out and in the merchandise with hand trucks, pending the appearance of the next peddler freight to pick it up and move it on to another station where it would be left for a repetition of this sequence. In big freight houses the railroads used ‘Towmotors’ to haul trains of carts around.

Hank Morris

2

Hi Mr Morris.Here is some information from “The American Railroad Freight Car”.The B&O sent all Less-Than-Carload shipments to Baltimore for sorting even though having the hub terminal at one end of the line meant considerible backhaul in 1888. Other railroads used trap,peddler or ferry cars.These cars went from station to station picking up LCL shipments and took them to a regional terminal,where they would be sortedand placed in cars aimed at the final destinations.Peddler cars reduced the number of cars needed.and helped relieve congestion.In1900 freight forwarding companies started to take over LCL business.