When I was growing up on the CB&Q during the 30's and 40's in Nebraska, I
remember my dad, who was an agent/operator, often referring to "automobile"
cars. It seemed to me he was referring to ordinary box cars when he used
that term. So I always assumed the terms were synomymous.
Recently I added a dock and ramp for unloading autos on one of the sidings on
my basement RR. I placed a couple of shiny new 39 Fords on the ramp and
spotted a box car alongside the dock. It immediately became very obvious
that no way could you load or unload an automobile on a standard 40-ft. box
car. Now I'm curious as to what my dad was actually referring to when he
talked about "outomobile cars". Can somebody let me know so I can correctly
service this dock?
Dale
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