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In
the years immediately following World War I, America’s
railroads required larger capacity enclosed freight
cars to haul bulky loads such as furniture, large machinery,
and the increasingly popular automobile from their points
of manufacture to destinations across the country. The
fifty foot composite “auto” boxcar, consisting
of steel framing with wood sheathing and having large
door openings of at least 12 feet and 10 feet of interior
height was a perfect fit for those railroads, mostly
western and southern, that did not have the clearance
restrictions imposed initially by the tunnels and existing
trackwork of the northeast. These forerunners to the
modern enclosed autorack were frequently reconfigured
throughout their lifetimes, and could be found with
a mixed variety of features, such as Evans autoloader
racks, different side door styles, optional “drive
in” end doors, roof designs and overall height
to enable the rapid loading and unloading of not only
automobiles, but whatever commodity the railroad required.
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