List,

I'm looking at a Sanborn Map of Woodland, California
dated November, 1943. The subject of interest is the
Woodland Rice Company located on the Southern Pacific.
Quite a large facility with a long spur track next to
the main warehouse.

My question while looking at this: When would rice stop
moving in boxcars out west and start moving in hoppers?
I know granger roads were using boxcars for this job into
the 1970's or later, but what about the West Coast?
Judging by the date of this map rice was probably still
getting bagged and shipped in boxcars, but didn't the SP
get their first 3-bay hoppers for grain-loading around
1947 or thereabouts? So rice-and other grains-would move
in boxcars on the SP until gradually replaced by the
covered hoppers of the 1950's and '60's.

Does this sound reasonable, or are my facts all messed up?

Shawn Beckert