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AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

William Keene <wakeene@...>
 

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA

kruegerp@...
 

Bill, awhile ago I posted some information to this list about the Janesville, WI General Motors/Chevrolet plant from the late 40s (about 1948).  Part of that information discussed the shipment of finished automobiles.


Here is a selection of that for your convenience:

"The shipment of finished automobiles and trucks is evenly divided between truck and railroad. In 1935 semi-trailer trucks were transporting 25% of the factory's production; today they carry 50%. The market area served by these trucks is circumscribed by a line connecting Wausau, Eau Claire, Des Moines, Peoria and Decatur. Practically all the vehicles shipped to Chicago go by truck, for it often takes the railroad company six hours or more to clear a loaded car from the siding and incorporate it into a train. Within that time a trucker can deliver a load to a Chicago dealer."


This plant produced 98,000 cars and 33,000 trucks in 1948 for the upper Midwest (IL,WI, MN, IA, SD, ND).


Paul Krueger

Seattle, WA



---In STMFC@..., <stmfc@...> wrote:

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA

Armand Premo
 

    Both my 1956 and 58 cars arrived by Boxcar.Armand Premo

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2013 4:41 PM
Subject: [STMFC] AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

 

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA

William Keene <wakeene@...>
 

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the information. I had done a search on the list before asking the question and did not come across your posting. Yahoo's group search engine leaves a lot to be desired. And my searching is not the best either. 

I model in 1953 and the area modeled is east central Kansas. To be more specific the town of Burlington, Kansas, which is about 160 miles driving miles from Kansas City. As a young person, I remember touring the GM B-O-P plant in Fairfax, Kansas. My guess is that cars assembled in the Fairfax plant would have been delivered by truck to Burlington. But somewhere I have read that Buick and Cadillac were two brands that were often shipped via rail. The other plant in the Kansas City area that I remember was Ford's ClayCoMo plant on the east side which built light trucks. 

I am trying to determine if a small fleet of automobile box cars would be needed on my east central Kansas layout.

Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated. I will go look for your posting again. 

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA


On Oct 18, 2013, at 2:17 PM, <kruegerp@...> wrote:

 

Bill, awhile ago I posted some information to this list about the Janesville, WI General Motors/Chevrolet plant from the late 40s (about 1948).  Part of that information discussed the shipment of finished automobiles.


Here is a selection of that for your convenience:

"The shipment of finished automobiles and trucks is evenly divided between truck and railroad. In 1935 semi-trailer trucks were transporting 25% of the factory's production; today they carry 50%. The market area served by these trucks is circumscribed by a line connecting Wausau, Eau Claire, Des Moines, Peoria and Decatur. Practically all the vehicles shipped to Chicago go by truck, for it often takes the railroad company six hours or more to clear a loaded car from the siding and incorporate it into a train. Within that time a trucker can deliver a load to a Chicago dealer."


This plant produced 98,000 cars and 33,000 trucks in 1948 for the upper Midwest (IL,WI, MN, IA, SD, ND).


Paul Krueger

Seattle, WA



---In STMFC@..., <stmfc@...> wrote:

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA


Tony Thompson
 

Autos were certainly shipped in box cars in the 50s, though in declining percentage thru that decade. Auto racks would reverse that decline after this list's time span. By the 50s it was almost all 50-foot cars. Older 40-foot cars often went into auto parts service.

Tony Thompson

On Oct 18, 2013, at 4:17 PM, <kruegerp@...> wrote:

 

Bill, awhile ago I posted some information to this list about the Janesville, WI General Motors/Chevrolet plant from the late 40s (about 1948).  Part of that information discussed the shipment of finished automobiles.


Here is a selection of that for your convenience:

"The shipment of finished automobiles and trucks is evenly divided between truck and railroad. In 1935 semi-trailer trucks were transporting 25% of the factory's production; today they carry 50%. The market area served by these trucks is circumscribed by a line connecting Wausau, Eau Claire, Des Moines, Peoria and Decatur. Practically all the vehicles shipped to Chicago go by truck, for it often takes the railroad company six hours or more to clear a loaded car from the siding and incorporate it into a train. Within that time a trucker can deliver a load to a Chicago dealer."


This plant produced 98,000 cars and 33,000 trucks in 1948 for the upper Midwest (IL,WI, MN, IA, SD, ND).


Paul Krueger

Seattle, WA



---In STMFC@..., <stmfc@...> wrote:

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.

Cheers,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA

water.kresse@...
 

I believe the C&O had 50-ft staggered side with end-door auto-rack box cars thru 1956.  Pontiac was using highway truck-trailers in 1950.  C&O first loaded tri-levels at Wixom, MI, in Oct 1960.

 

Al Kresse

From: "tony" <tony@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2013 7:32:37 PM
Subject: Re: [STMFC] RE: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

Autos were certainly shipped in box cars in the 50s, though in declining percentage thru that decade. Auto racks would reverse that decline after this list's time span. By the 50s it was almost all 50-foot cars. Older 40-foot cars often went into auto parts service.

Tony Thompson

> On Oct 18, 2013, at 4:17 PM, wrote:
>
> Bill, awhile ago I posted some information to this list about the Janesville, WI General Motors/Chevrolet plant from the late 40s (about 1948).  Part of that information discussed the shipment of finished automobiles.
>
>
>
> Here is a selection of that for your convenience:
>
> "The shipment of finished automobiles and trucks is evenly divided between truck and railroad. In 1935 semi-trailer trucks were transporting 25% of the factory's production; today they carry 50%. The market area served by these trucks is circumscribed by a line connecting Wausau, Eau Claire, Des Moines, Peoria and Decatur. Practically all the vehicles shipped to Chicago go by truck, for it often takes the railroad company six hours or more to clear a loaded car from the siding and incorporate it into a train. Within that time a trucker can deliver a load to a Chicago dealer."
>
>
>
> This plant produced 98,000 cars and 33,000 trucks in 1948 for the upper Midwest (IL,WI, MN, IA, SD, ND).
>
>
>
> Paul Krueger
>
> Seattle, WA
>
>
>
> ---In STMFC@..., wrote:
>
> Hello Group,
>
> I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.
>
> The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.
>
> My questions are:
> 1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?
> 2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?
> 3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?
> 4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?
>
> That is enough questions for now. I may have more. Thanks for any responses.
>
> Cheers,
> Bill Keene
> Irvine, CA
>

Richard Hendrickson
 

On Oct 18, 2013, at 1:41 PM, William Keene <wakeene@...> wrote:

 

Hello Group,

I have a question regarding the shipment of new automobiles in box cars in the post WW II era and into the early 1950s.

The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars. It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period.

My questions are:
1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?

No.

2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950s?

Yes, in large numbers.

3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?

All, or almost all, of them.

4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?

Both.  As postwar autos grew in size, 50' cars with auto racks we're used in larger numbers, but there were many 40' rack-equipped auto cars in this service, including some that were built new for that purpose in the late 1940s and early '50s.

Owing partly to the development of the interstate highway system in the '50s, the shipment of new autos by truck rather than by rail made serious inroads into rail traffic of new autos, which is why the railroads began developing auto rack flat cars.  However, at least from 1945 through the late '50s, rail shipments of new autos, as well as of auto parts, was a substantial source of revenue, and the railroads developed a system of assigned-service pools in which each RR on a certain route contributed a number of cars to the pool roughly proportional to their route mileage.  Cars assigned to the pools had pool numbers and return routes stenciled on them so they would rapidly be returned empty to the point of origin.

After WW II the auto industry diversified geographically (often using war production plants that were purchased from the government for a small fraction of what they were worth), so new autos were being produced in large numbers at locations far from the former center of the industry in the Great Lakes states, e.g. Georgia, Texas, Southern California.  Increasingly, some models were made in only one factory and thus had to be shipped long distances to markets in other parts of the country, and the greater the distance, the more likely they were to be shipped by rail.

Richard Hendrickson

Tony Thompson
 

Richard Hendrickson wrote:

 
Owing partly to the development of the interstate highway system in the '50s, the shipment of new autos by truck rather than by rail made serious inroads into rail traffic of new autos, which is why the railroads began developing auto rack flat cars.  However, at least from 1945 through the late '50s, rail shipments of new autos, as well as of auto parts, was a substantial source of revenue, and the railroads developed a system of assigned-service pools in which each RR on a certain route contributed a number of cars to the pool roughly proportional to their route mileage.  Cars assigned to the pools had pool numbers and return routes stenciled on them so they would rapidly be returned empty to the point of origin.

     Though broadly correct, I think this summary gives somewhat the wrong impression. If you look at traffic statistics, shipping of completed autos by rail declined sharply after 1950, and by 1959 less than 10 percent of all new autos went to market by rail. That was entirely reversed in the 1960s with auto racks, as some other freight car list would cover. Auto parts are a different story, and Richard's summary is right on target.

Tony Thompson             Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705         www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, tony@...
Publishers of books on railroad history




Charles Hostetler
 

Hi Bill (and other interested in automobile traffic):

I gathered some statistics from the 1% carload waybill study on passenger and freight automobile shipments into a post that you may find useful as you think about your auto car fleet. For those interested, the post can be found here:

http://cnwmodeling.blogspot.com/2013/10/commodity-flows-of-automobiles-and.html

Regards,

Charles Hostetler

Brad Andonian
 


Charles,
Your work is just stupendous!
 
Brad Andonian

From: Charles Hostetler
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 7:52 PM
Subject: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S
 
Hi Bill (and other interested in automobile traffic):

I gathered some statistics from the 1% carload waybill study on passenger and freight automobile shipments into a post that you may find useful as you think about your auto car fleet. For those interested, the post can be found here:

http://cnwmodeling.blogspot.com/2013/10/commodity-flows-of-automobiles-and.html

Regards,

Charles Hostetler

Aley, Jeff A
 

Charles,

 

               Very nice analysis.  I was surprised that the state-to-state data for Kansas was omitted.  But then I realized the the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) plant in Kansas City (Fairfax), KS was probably the ONLY major auto factory in the state.  The ICC 1% waybill analysis omits data from a single source, as it can easily be identified as a single factory, and therefore can provide production data to competitors.  IIRC, there’s also no data about the tires shipped from the Goodyear plant in Topeka, for that same reason.

 

               Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?

 

Regards,

 

-Jeff

 

 

From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of Charles Hostetler
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 7:52 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

 

 

Hi Bill (and other interested in automobile traffic):

I gathered some statistics from the 1% carload waybill study on passenger and freight automobile shipments into a post that you may find useful as you think about your auto car fleet. For those interested, the post can be found here:

http://cnwmodeling.blogspot.com/2013/10/commodity-flows-of-automobiles-and.html

Regards,

Charles Hostetler

Richard Hendrickson
 

On Oct 22, 2013, at 1:23 PM, "Aley, Jeff A" <Jeff.A.Aley@...> wrote:

 
 Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?

Jeff, autos and light trucks were often shipped in crates if the destination was overseas and required them to be loaded on a ship (this was, of course, before the days of containers).  And they usually were not disassembled, not even to the point of removing wheels and tires; they were crated intact.  As you may imagine, they were tied down very securely in the crates so they could be lifted by cranes and stacked in the holds of a ship.  Even used cars were crated in this fashion if they were being moved "across the pond" from one country to another.  And of course the easiest way to carry them to ports by rail was in mill gondolas or on flat cars.

 

Richard Hendrickson

William Keene <wakeene@...>
 

Thank you Al. Charles, Paul, Richard, Tony, and all of the others that responded to my request for information regarding the shipment of automobiles in the post-WWII era into the early 1950s. I now have a much clearer understanding of this traffic. An education that I really needed.

Now I need to review my personal automobile box car fleet and make some prototypically necessary adjustments.

Cheers & Happy Modeling,
Bill Keene
Irvine, CA



On Oct 22, 2013, at 1:23 PM, "Aley, Jeff A" <Jeff.A.Aley@...> wrote:

 

Charles,

 

               Very nice analysis.  I was surprised that the state-to-state data for Kansas was omitted.  But then I realized the the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) plant in Kansas City (Fairfax), KS was probably the ONLY major auto factory in the state.  The ICC 1% waybill analysis omits data from a single source, as it can easily be identified as a single factory, and therefore can provide production data to competitors.  IIRC, there’s also no data about the tires shipped from the Goodyear plant in Topeka, for that same reason.

 

               Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?

 

Regards,

 

-Jeff

 

 

From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charles Hostetler
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 7:52 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

 

 

Hi Bill (and other interested in automobile traffic):

I gathered some statistics from the 1% carload waybill study on passenger and freight automobile shipments into a post that you may find useful as you think about your auto car fleet. For those interested, the post can be found here:

http://cnwmodeling.blogspot.com/2013/10/commodity-flows-of-automobiles-and.html

Regards,

Charles Hostetler



Aley, Jeff A
 

Thanks Richard.

 

-Jeff

 

 

From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of Richard Hendrickson
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 2:11 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

 

 

On Oct 22, 2013, at 1:23 PM, "Aley, Jeff A" <Jeff.A.Aley@...> wrote:



 

 Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?

 

Jeff, autos and light trucks were often shipped in crates if the destination was overseas and required them to be loaded on a ship (this was, of course, before the days of containers).  And they usually were not disassembled, not even to the point of removing wheels and tires; they were crated intact.  As you may imagine, they were tied down very securely in the crates so they could be lifted by cranes and stacked in the holds of a ship.  Even used cars were crated in this fashion if they were being moved "across the pond" from one country to another.  And of course the easiest way to carry them to ports by rail was in mill gondolas or on flat cars.

 

Richard Hendrickson

Charles Hostetler
 

Jeff Aley wrote:


"I was surprised that the state-to-state data for Kansas was omitted.  But then I realized the the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) plant in Kansas City (Fairfax), KS was probably the ONLY major auto factory in the state.  The ICC 1% waybill analysis omits data from a single source, as it can easily be identified as a single factory, and therefore can provide production data to competitors.  IIRC, there’s also no data about the tires shipped from the Goodyear plant in Topeka, for that same reason.


Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?"



Hi Jeff,


1)  Your interpretation of the Kansas omission is right on the mark.  The ICC censored this data from the state-to-state report because it was from a single source in a state.  


2)  Cars/trucks/buses in crates could be anything from a complete car strapped to the floor of the crate that is ready to drive off; to a complete knock down (CKD) that would be assembled at some destination; to a semi knockdown (SKD) that would have parts added from other sources for assembly at some distant destination.  These shipments were almost exclusively for export.  The crates were designed to fit and stack into the cargo holds of ships.  There is a modern treatment of this topic at:


http://www.cargohandbook.com/index.php/CKD_(Cars_Knocked_Down) 


I have been able to track the practice back to Ford in 1922 (Henry Ford wrote about it in his autobiography).  Ford instituted the practice of exporting CKD and SKD cars originally as a method to manage his inventory and balance the different production rates of various subassemblies.  He also was an original advocate of the idea that a good car didn't have to be completely assembled under "one roof", and in addition to shipping knock downs for assembly at remote locations started shipping car parts to remote final assembly plants as well. 


Regards,


Charles Hostetler



---In STMFC@..., <stmfc@...> wrote:

Charles,

 

               Very nice analysis.  I was surprised that the state-to-state data for Kansas was omitted.  But then I realized the the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) plant in Kansas City (Fairfax), KS was probably the ONLY major auto factory in the state.  The ICC 1% waybill analysis omits data from a single source, as it can easily be identified as a single factory, and therefore can provide production data to competitors.  IIRC, there’s also no data about the tires shipped from the Goodyear plant in Topeka, for that same reason.

 

               Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?

 

Regards,

 

-Jeff

 

 

From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of Charles Hostetler
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 7:52 PM
To: STMFC@...
Subject: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S

 

 

Hi Bill (and other interested in automobile traffic):

I gathered some statistics from the 1% carload waybill study on passenger and freight automobile shipments into a post that you may find useful as you think about your auto car fleet. For those interested, the post can be found here:

http://cnwmodeling.blogspot.com/2013/10/commodity-flows-of-automobiles-and.html

Regards,

Charles Hostetler

Robert kirkham
 

if you go to the Vancouver Public Library web search page <http://www3.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/spe/histphotos/photos-search.htm> and search with the term “crated” you will find three photos of crated autos.  Not the greatest resolution, but gives the idea – both flat cars and gons.
 
Rob Kirkham
 

Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 4:58 PM
Subject: RE: RE: [STMFC] Re: AUTOMOBILE SHIPMENTS IN BOX CARS IN THE 1950S
 


Jeff Aley wrote:

 

"I was surprised that the state-to-state data for Kansas was omitted.  But then I realized the the BOP (Buick-Olds-Pontiac) plant in Kansas City (Fairfax), KS was probably the ONLY major auto factory in the state.  The ICC 1% waybill analysis omits data from a single source, as it can easily be identified as a single factory, and therefore can provide production data to competitors.  IIRC, there’s also no data about the tires shipped from the Goodyear plant in Topeka, for that same reason.


Could you (or anyone else) please tell us more about automobiles shipped in crates in gons?  I am not familiar with that practice.  How does one “break down” an automobile to fit in a crate, and why?"

 

 

Guy Wilber
 

Bill wrote:
 
"The recent issue of Trains Magazine has a number of articles on the shipment of automobiles via rail but is a bit vague about the timeline for the use of box cars."
 
The article is not only vague on that timeline, but also fails to mention the use of Evans Auto~Loaders or the NYC Railroad's two designs of auto loaders.   
 
   
 
 "It has been my understanding -- perhaps misguided -- that automobile shipments after WWII moved from rail to highway over the road trailer and very few cars were shipped in box cars at this time period."
 
Railroads lost the majority share of new, fully assembled, auto and light truck shipments to trucking in 1932, and never recaptured that advantage until after 1960.  Prior to the 1930's, shipments of automobiles and light trucks were dominated by the railroads .  In 1932 51.5% of new autos and light trucks were delivered by truck or so-called "drive-aways",  the latter two methods of delivery were grouped statistically (during that period), thus it is hard to derive the true percentage hauled by truck.  None-the-less, railroads were  
 
"1) is my understanding of the shipment of automobiles via rail correct?"
 
No, the railroads still handled a good portion of the automobile and light truck traffic during the post war years from which they received a higher profit per ton than virtually any other commodity.   
 
"2) were automobiles being shipped in box cars into the 1950's?"
 
Yes, by the thousands.

"3) if YES, then what makes were shipped by rail?"
 
Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Checker, De Soto, Hudson, Kaiser, Nash, Packard, Studebaker, Willys, and Crosley.
 
"4) after WWII was box car shipment of automobiles, if shipped in a box car, done using 40-foot or 50-foot box cars?"
 
40-foot auto cars equipped with Evans Auto~Loaders outnumbered 50-foot auto cars (so equipped) until mid-1957.  40-foot cars were nearly as well suited as their 50-foot companions when small to mid-sized vehicles were shipped.  50-foot cars were purchased in large part to serve the small truck market as well as autos.  A good percentage of

Guy Wilber
 

In a message dated 10/18/2013 4:32:44 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, tony@... writes:
"Autos were certainly shipped in box cars in the 50s, though in declining percentage thru that decade. Auto racks would reverse that decline after this list's time span. By the 50s it was almost all 50-foot cars. Older 40-foot cars often went into auto parts service."
 
By the early 1950's it wasn't even close...40-footers equipped with Auto~Loaders out numbered 50-footers (so equipped) by a three to two ratio.  50-foot cars furnished for transporting finished motor vehicles didn't take over the lead until mid way thru 1957. 
 
Guy Wilber
Reno, Nevada 

Guy Wilber
 

Al wrote:
I believe the C&O had 50-ft staggered side with end-door auto-rack box cars thru 1956.  Pontiac was using highway truck-trailers in 1950.  C&O first loaded tri-levels at Wixom, MI, in Oct 1960.
 
Al,
 
The C&O rostered approximately 200 50' auto cars equipped with Evans Auto~Loaders thru 1960.  None of the C&O, or inherited PM cars, fitted with loaders had end doors at that time. 
 
Pontiac was shipping autos via trucks by the early 1920's as were most manufacturers, though they still utilized rail service from Pontiac, Michigan, for long haul deliveries (typically more than 400 miles).  
 
Assembly plants located at; Linden, NJ., Doraville, Ga., Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles, Ca., and Wilmington, Del., were shipping autos by both rail and truck into the 1950's as well. 
 
 The deliveries from Pontiac's total production (via rail) averaged around 25% from Pontiac and less than 14% from the assembly plants by the early 1950's.  Deliveries from the assembly plants by rail were usually within a 300 to 400 mile range.  
 
Guy Wilber
Reno, Nevada 
 
 
 
 

Al Campbell
 

Hello: I recall 1957 or 1958 Nash Ramblers arriving at Salem MA in 40' box cars. I don't know the type of loaders that were used but remember that they were stacked 2 over 2. Wondered at the time how the top cars were unloaded. Wish I were more attuned to railroad practices at the time. Regards, Al Campbell 

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