Collection Type: RAIL: FREIGHT

Built as boxcar, cut down to flatcar; wood frame car with truss rods; steel center sill added; 34 feet long; 30-ton capacity; part of Katy Flyer train.

In this car, the small sliding door above the side entry door was used for the milk loading hose.  To keep the interior as clean as possible, the entry doors were kept closed once the piping was hooked up except when a worker was going in or out.  The tanks were emptied from the bottom using pipes routed out the large door.  The tanks are canted slightly toward the center to make it easier to drain them.  The car had electric agitation motors that were plugged in and their propellers stirred the milk in the tanks while it was being loader, or when waiting to be emptied.  This distributed the butterfat in the milk and prevented the residue from sticking to the tank walls, making cleaning easier.  The motion of the car was expected to do this while the milk was being transported. The 6,000 gallon tanks in the car were made of stainless steel insulated with two inches of cork, not "glass lined" steel.  No ice was used as the insulation in the cars was sufficient to keep the milk from warming too much. The large quantity of pre-cooled milk also did not change the temperature quickly.  The cars ran in express trains. In one test milk was shipped from Wisconsin to Florida and the temperature only raised one degree in a trip of 101 hours.  Once the tanks were emptied they were scrubbed clean by a worker who entered through the large oval door.  They were then sterilized using steam and resealed.  Regular inspections were made by local health authorities to insure cleanliness.

60,000-gallon, fully loaded weight 272,700 lb.; welded experimental car; 97-foot length would not clear curves, and 89-foot limit now applies. World’s largest tank car. Built to transport anhydrous ammonia. Donated to Museum in 1971 by General American Transportation Corporation. Hear more here.

Cooled by diesel-powered refrigeration system.

Wood body on steel frame; survivor of five accidents and rebuildings.

Composite construction, with steel under and body framing with wood plank walls; drop doors speed unloading.

All-steel car, built as Northern Pacific #1082; oil heat, electric generator for lights.

Extended-vision (width) cupola design; caboose built for Northern Pacific Railway.

Pioneer car in nationwide piggyback service; carried two 36-foot trailers; built for Pennsylvania Railroad.

Bunkers at each end of car carried 5 tons of ice to cool produce in summer, or heaters to keep load from freezing in winter; has insulated wood body on steel frame. It was constructed with 4 inches of horse-hair insulation on the sides and end walls and 4½ inches in the roof and floor.  The #52461 was donated in 1958 by the American Refrigerator Transit Company.