Through the 1960's the accepted practice, both shipper and railroad, was to
stick just about everything into a boxcar. Remember the disposible heavy-paper
"grain doors" which would cover doorways so grain could be shipped in a boxcar?
That changed over time, probably for several reasons. One, more automation was
implemented by shippers. Using the grain example again, the guy shoveling
grain out the door was replaced by a pneumatic system- and they work much
better with covered hoppers.
Second, the economy has changed. The world was once paper- paper bags, paper
boxes. Paper was shipped rolled, in (you guessed right) boxcars. Today it's
plastic and foam derivitives, whose raw form get shipped in covered hoppers and
tankcars.
Third, the financial condition of railroads probably played a part. Boxcars
were railroad-owned cars, and if you read the industry literature of the time,
shippers were forever complaining about the lousy condition of the empty cars
they received for loading. Shippers turned to leased cars ("X" suffixed cars,
like NAHX) which usually were in dedicated service, and they could order them
specialized anyway they wanted. Out went the boxcar, in came covered hoppers
and the like.
Of course, how does one define freight car variety? I'd argue that today's
consists exhibit LESS variety. I'll grant you more types of cars today, but
most are just cookie-cutter initialled covered hoppers and tankcars, with no
heralds or intruiging paint schemes. Maybe "in the old days" we got mostly
boxcars, but they were emblazoned with heralds of those far-away railroads we
only read about in magazines!
AJT
>To Paul's question of the number of consists that used to have less
>variety -
>
>Just an opinion, but besides the increased level of specialization, I'd
>guess that a big factor is that much of the freight that now goes by truck
>and used to go by rail were the kind of loads that would have gone in
>boxcars when going by rail. The total percent of boxcar type shipments
>compared to others would probably have been a lot higher then. Also, today
>the "boxcar stuff" that does go by rail is very likely to be in containers
>rather than boxcars.
>
>Watching freights as a kid in the early 50's, my memories are of strings of
>boxcars (& reefers) as far as the eye could see broken infrequently by open
>hoppers, gondolas, flats or small tankers. Anything else was a rare
>surprise. (In central NY that is)
>
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