[Boston&Maine]

Ok, I know that way back when they used those open auto racks to transport cars on the railroads... I know that today they use the corrugated or articulated auto carriers when transporting cars on the railroads... When did the auto carrier pictured below come into the picture though? Was this the type of auto carrier used in the time period between the two I mentioned above? :dunno:

 

[Boston&Maine]

Well here is all of the information I found... There are a couple of pictures of this type of carrier here, a few rows up from the bottom...

I found some information on Wikipedia, but it seems to contradict itself, at least it does the way I am reading it... Apparently in 1957 CN built 75' auto carriers (the ones I am talking about are a model of a 75' carrier) with end doors... Now Amtrak's Auto Train purchased some of these carriers from CN sometime before 1976... In the last paragraph below though, it says that US carriers did not get siding until the 1970's and then roofing and doors in the 1980's... So is my picture of one of the CN style carriers that CSX purchased :dunno:

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The Auto-Train's first autoracks were 75-foot (23 m)-long bilevel models with end doors, carrying eight automobiles each. The cars had originally been owned by Canadian National Railway, the railroad that had pioneered the use of autoracks in the North American freight rail industry beginning in late 1957. The bilevel autoracks were augmented by trilevel ones that were purchased new in 1976.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Train_(Amtrak)

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In late 1957, Canadian National Railroad (CN) introduced a group of auto carriers which represented a new innovation. The CN bi-level auto-rack cars had end-doors. They were huge by the standards of the time; the cars were 75 feet (23 m) long and could carry 8 vehicles. These cars were a big success and helped lead to the development of today's enclosed auto racks.

.....

The only problem left was that the new autorack cars did not provide any protection from flying debris or from the weather. In the manner CN had developed in the 1950s, in the 1970s other North American railroads began refining their autorack cars. They began installing side sheathing to protect the vehicles from impact. Roofs were added to most autoracks in the 1980s, and end doors were added in the latter portion of the decade (both to prevent damage and to deter people from boarding the cars and riding the train within the vehicles loaded in them).

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorack

 

[Southern]

Well here is all of the information I found... There are a couple of pictures of this type of carrier here, a few rows up from the bottom...

I found some information on Wikipedia, but it seems to contradict itself, at least it does the way I am reading it... Apparently in 1957 CN built 75' auto carriers (the ones I am talking about are a model of a 75' carrier) with end doors... Now Amtrak's Auto Train purchased some of these carriers from CN sometime before 1976... In the last paragraph below though, it says that US carriers did not get siding until the 1970's and then roofing and doors in the 1980's... So is my picture of one of the CN style carriers that CSX purchased :dunno:

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From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Train_(Amtrak)

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From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorack

Two types. New automobiles and take your car with you on the passenger train. I think you are talking about the new car haulers. I don;t know much but I do remember when southern changed to ones that locked up the autos. must have been in the late 60's early 70's.

John

 

[Boston&Maine]

Yea, I am talking about the ones that ship new cars, but I was under the impression that the design was the same in either case...

 

[stationmaster]

"Covered" auto carriers occurred in the early '60's. They had sides and no top. full covers in the late '60', early '70's as mentioned. The ones similar to what we see today occurred around 1978. Articulated carriers in the late 1990's, around 1999-2001.