50' DOUBLE-DOOR BOXCARS
The automobile was the primary motivation for the development of fifty-foot boxcars as their weight was far below the capacity of a boxcar. While double doors were necessary for loading automobiles, they also eased the loading of other bulky cargos such as lumber or furniture. Like their forty-foot counterparts, fifty-foot boxcars were designated according to the equipment they carried as follows:
XR (Formerly XAR)- A boxcar with side doors at least ten feet wide, and equpipped with permanent automobile stowing equipment. It may be with or without end doors, and is usually marked “Automobile”. A car that could also be used for general service was formerly designated as type “XMR”.
XF- A boxcar with an interior coating to prevent contamination of processed foods.
XL (Formerly XML)- A boxcar equipped with loader devices, consisting of perforated side rails, crossbars or bulkheads.
XM- A boxcar suitable for general service.
XP (Formerly XMP)- A boxcar specially equipped for a specific commodity, and not suitable for general service. The commodity is usually noted in the Equipment Register. Boxcars equipped with permanent racks for stowing automobile parts were formerly designated “XAP”.
The rise of fifty-foot boxcars coincided with the dieselization of America’s railroads, which made it possible to run much longer trains. While this saved the railroads money, it also increased freight damage due to slack action. Because of this, many of the new boxcars of the time were equipped with various loading devices designed to secure loads from moving. When these devices were new, they were often advertised on the car sides, which can be found on many of our models. These devices were expensive and complicated, and have been largely replaced by inflatable cushions.
The chart below lists fifty-foot double-door boxcars by type on the New York Central Railroad between 1947 and 1966. It is interesting to note the amount of boxcars that were dedicated to the automotive industry, both for the transport of parts and whole automobiles. The shipment of automobiles in boxcars ended with the adoption of the auto rack, making type XR boxcars obsolete. Though auto parts continued to be an important source of revenue, they were increasingly being transported by longer and higher boxcars.
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD X32 ROUND ROOF BOXCARS
MICRO-TRAINS and FINE N-SCALE
In 1932, the AAR adopted a standard inside height for boxcars of nine feet, four inches in. The Pennsylvania Railroad felt a need for higher capacity boxcars, particularly for automobile service. They developed the X32 boxcars with an interior height of ten feet and rounded edges at the roof to reduce clearance problems. The X32 cars were constructed with both 12’ doors and 14’6” doors. In addition, some round-roof boxcars were built with end doors and designated X33. As larger automobile cars appeared in the fifties, many X32’s were rebuilt into X32d single-door boxcars as well as K9 stock cars (A model I’d love to see in N-scale).
The Micro-Trains 79000 series model represents an X32 boxcar with 14’6” doors, though some of the roadnames offered represent cars with 12’ doors. A cast resin kit of an X32 with 12’ doors is available from Fine N-scale, which includes decals for Pennsy’s shaded keystone scheme. The chart below lists the roads that originally owned X32 boxcars, as well as the short lines that picked them up second hand in later years. Automobile cars are listed seperately.
In 1961, Northern Pacific acquired several series of secondhand double-door boxcars for hauling lumber. This included two series of X32’s as well as a series of 40’ X31’s. The July, 2009 release of Micro Trains 07900060 included a green veneer load with no doors. While correctly numbered for the series of 14’6” boxcars, I could find no evidence of its existence. However, two photos exist of green veneer cars with 12’ doors: a 1971 photo in the Railroad Picture Archive website as well as a 1973 photo in the Northern Pacific Color Guide. The Northern Pacific Color Guide also contains a 1976 photo of 40’ veneer car NP 39025, which is also listed in the October, 1975 Equipment Register.
