Reply to "Still hard to believe that covered grain hoppers were not accepted until after 1950."

Before 1950, grain threshed by the early combines and stationary threshing machines on farms was frequently not handled in bulk; it was in burlap sacks. Boxcars make sense for handling grain if it is bagged. With the advent of bulk grain and fertilizer handling on the farm, it then made sense to do it by rail as well.