In a message dated 6/25/02 6:17:38 AM Pacific Daylight Time, branch@...
writes:

<< 10,576 (~7%) of these were 7' door cars sold to 14 railroads between 1946
and 1956. >>

Of Interest:

The AAR actually dropped the 7-ft. door width for both 40' and 50' box car
designs from the "Standard" list of door openings in 1949. The reasoning
was; "In the interest of standardization by eliminating one of the widths it
is the understanding that very few railroads have used the 7-ft. door opening
up to this time and any road that has used same can very easily use the 8-ft.
door in the future.

Of course, as with all the AAR "Standards" this was not a mandated rule that
would have prevented any road (so choosing) to still use the 7-ft. width.

Regards,

Guy Wilber
Sparks, Nevada