I'm starting a new feature, called 'Carpack', following the wide variety of cars that pass through Hillsdale every day.
A boxcar shows off its ' urban tattoo' as it passes through town. The CHTT reporting marks are for the old Chicago Heights Terminal Transfer, a subsidiary of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, which itself was aquired by the APRR in the late 60's. This boxcar dropped a load off at Johnson Foods in Dale City, and is now returning to the midwest.
Another CHTT-marked car is this covered hopper, also graffitied. This is one of several thousand Trinity-built hopper cars of this design that the AP&W has -none of which have APW reporting marks!
A car that DOES have APW markings is this large 60' boxcar. These are normally seen in auto parts service; during the downturn of '08-'10 these cars were seen in other places, such as paper transport, where this one was found waiting to go to the paper mill with a load of paper bales for recycling.
Another car waiting to go to the paper mill was this old, weathered RailBox car, also loaded with paper bales. Note that while the lettering is still intact, the red and blue arrows are fading away. Note also that the capacity data has been crossed out (no longer required) and that the car still has its inspection dot on the side above the right-hand truck. This was required on cars in 1978 due to a series of incidents involving defective wheelsets. Cars were inspected, and the dot signified that the wheelsets were good.
In the same string of cars is this newer 60' TBOX. This car sports the TTX scheme used around the the turn of the millinium up until a few years ago. As the slogan on the side notes, TTX is a pool of railroad equipment that operates nationwide. Originally formed by the nation's railroads in the late-60's to operate a growing fleet of trailer carrying flatcars, it now owns thousands of boxcars, gondolas and flatcars of all types, as well as the vast majority of intermodal railcars.
This 68' flat car is a specialized car known as a 'finger rack'; so named due to the "fingers" mounted on the deck. This car is on its way to Wilson Steel to be loaded with the cargo it was designed for; bundles of steel rebar, the reinforcing rods used in large concrete walls.
Here is the car after loading. Now you see the reason for the "fingers" on the deck -to help keep the bundles of rebar neatly stacked on the car. These bundles are headed for the World Trade Center.
Another load of steel are these pipes, also from Wilson Steel.
These pipes will be heading to the Gulf Coast for an oil pipeline project. Note that they are in two APW gondolas painted in two different schemes! The left gondola has been recently repainted, and now sports the required conspicuity striping -the yellow reflective tape along the sides, used to increase the car's nighttime visability.
To finish off the 'metal' theme, here is another car used by the steel industry; a short-bulkhead flatcar. While cars with taller bulkheads (ends) are used by the lumber industry to carry wood and drywall products, these cars as better suited for carrying the heavier loads of the steel industry, since the loads are rarely that tall. The bulkheads do an excellent job of keeping the loads from shifting past the ends of the car and causing a derailment. This car is actually carrying a load of aluminum rods.
