-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Garth G. Groff" <ggg9y@...>
Al,

How about customer preferences? On the Western Pacific (admittedly not a
mid-western or eastern road), 50' boxcars became the norm by the mid to
late 1950s due to customer demand. WP 50-footers were largely used for
auto parts and for lumber. In both cases, it was not only car size, but
also large door openings which were handy for forklifts, that made these
cars attractive to shippers. Once the WP (and subsidiaries Sacramento
Northern and Tidewater Southern) began buying 50' PS-1s in 1954, they
never looked back at 40' cars, except for a few specialized cars for
appliance loading (which might again have been customer preference).
Indeed, in the early 1960s, many of WP 40' PS-1s were returned to
Pullman for lengthening (but that's beyond the STMFP boundaries). ;-)

Kind regards,

Garth G. Groff

al.kresse wrote:

Folks,

Do we have the short list of key reasons (such as market and
technology) for the shifting of "standard" NEW and REBUILT steel box
cars becoming 50-ft vs previously 40-ft box cars after WW2 and into the
fifties? Especially in the midwest and east?

Al Kresse