Back in the day (1970ish) these cars were touted as the car of the future. The sides would swing down and be loaded/unloaded. I don't remember any common carriers having this car. Are any still around in their original form? Did they become obsolete because of labor of loading, or high maintenance cost, or just not a practical car in the first place?
Replies sorted oldest to newest
My guess is that the doors were subject to a great deal of damage in the loading/unloading process, probably when fork lifts opened and closed the doors. Center beams are much more efficient.
ChipR.
There was a company near Sacramento that used them to ship wood moldings. I believe they still use them. As was noted, keeping the doors working is a problem. All the cars I can recall were leased cars. I do not recall ever seeing any all door cars with railroad marks on them.
Green Bay & Western
Rusty
IMHO, containers made them obsolete for the most part.
Thanks for the info and pictures guys, much appreciated.
Thrall Car was the name. There are still a few of the ALL DOOR BOX CARS in service.
Andrew
There are some examples at the Illinois RR museum outside Chicago.
Interesting car - here's a nice history that I found - a good solution until a better one was found - package the lumber differently
Thanks for the interesting question, Chuck.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
