But, loading even up to six automobiles onto one flat car left a large amount of space above the vehicles that was unused. It wasn't until the 1960s that the majority of railroads took the clue from circuses and started loading their own flat cars in this manner. This type of vehicle loading became known as "circus style" due to its frequent use by circuses. A temporary ramp was placed at the end of the flat cars and temporary bridge plates spanned the gaps between adjacent flat cars the road vehicles were driven or towed up onto one car and then driven or towed down the train. The circus solution to loading vehicles was to use a string of flat cars. Circuses were major haulers of wheeled vehicles, carrying all of their vehicles on flat cars, usually behind their own passenger cars or in separate sections of their trains (basically, one train would haul the performers and employees while a second train would haul the vehicles and freight). The success of these assemblies was limited due to their special use and specific size it proved uneconomical to maintain a fleet of these assemblies that could only be loaded into boxcars from the ends of the cars.īy this time, in the United States, most circuses still traveled by rail. In the 1940s and 1950s, some railroads experimented with automobile loading assemblies that would lift one or more automobile above others within a boxcar for more efficient use of space within the cars. The concept was not perfected and therefore failed to gain acceptance. In 1923, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad experimented with modifying a group of 61-foot-long wood-frame flat cars to increase their capacity by adding collapsible frames to allow for double-deck operation. These modifications helped, but the demand for new automobiles outpaced the railroads' abilities to build and modify boxcars in which to ship them. Some modifications included longer boxcars, larger sliding double side doors located near one end of the boxcar, or doors located on the boxcar ends. But as automobiles grew in size, railroads found that they needed to modify the boxcars for more efficient loading. Two to four automobiles would usually fit into one boxcar. In the early part of the 20th century, when automobiles were still new technology, their production levels were low enough that they could be shipped in sufficient quantities in boxcars. The article's source, wikitext, comes after History: developing improvements from boxcars Ĭheck source to see how to move content box (toc) to the right side. It can be disabled in one's user preferences. Generated by the software that runs Wikipedia. It is also used for Auto Train service in the United States. It is widely used to carry new automobiles and light trucks from the factories to automotive distributors. The platform of the pictured car (the bottom strip of yellow and everything below it) is owned by TTX Corporation, while the rack (the parts above the platform painted dark red and silver) is owned by Norfolk Southern.Īn autorack, also known as an auto carrier, is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport unladen automobiles (unladen in this context refers to automobiles without passengers).
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