A Car For Every Purpose

In addition to the standard styles of cars, the railroads devised some curious and interesting special-purpose cars, mostly built in very small numbers. For example:

Wooden tank cars used by big food processors such as H. J. Heinz to move their products around the country in bulk quantities.

Open-sided cars, covered with wire mesh, that carried up to 5,000 chickens or 1,400 turkeys. An attendant aboard the traveling coop fed and watered his excitable flock. Now obsolete.

Insulated cars used to transport molten iron and steel around steel mills. In a few cases hot metal is transported over fairly long distances between mills.

Twelve- and sixteen-wheel flats were introduced in the 186Os to move large cannon. In more recent times deep-well flatcars were developed to carry high and heavy loads such as electrical generators.

Some petroleumcarrying tank cars were divided into three compartments to carry different refinery products. Other tank cars were designed for specific compressed gases or chemicals. Glasslined tank cars carried milk.

Pygmy hopper cars built short and heavy to handle their dense and weighty loads.

Long and high cars to handle light but bulky cargo such as buggies, furniture, and empty barrels.