September 7, 2021
When you think “rail car,” chances are your mind’s eye pictures a boxcar. Featured in books, movies and television, boxcars may be one of the most iconic pieces of railroad equipment and are certainly the most recognizable. Perhaps that’s because boxcars are one of the oldest rail car types, appearing first in the 1830s. For over a century, boxcars were used to ship most non-bulk freight (even cars!). That changed in the 1960s, when more specialized cars came on the market that catered better to specific types of freight. Even so, boxcars continue to play an important role in shipping all sorts of freight, from paper to canned goods to appliances.
Boxcars are very versatile and can carry most kinds of freight. Because they are enclosed, boxcars are used to carry loads that require protection from the weather. Common products shipped in boxcars include:
Adding to their versatility, boxcars can be insulated, refrigerated and cushioned to protect contents of all types from damage or temperature extremes during transit.
Boxcars look…a lot like a box (thus their name). A typical boxcar is rectangular in shape, is completely enclosed, and has sliding doors or plug doors on the sides.
Boxcars can range in size, but typically their interior lengths are between 50 feet and 60 feet long with a minimum width of 9 feet inside.
Boxcars come in two door types, the plug door and the sliding (corrugated) door, and can have one or two doors per side, resulting in four options:
Single doors vs. double doors: Single doors have a width of 10' or 12' for and double doors are 16' wide.
Sliding doors: The sliding door system keeps both the weather and direct sunlight out. It slides using two rollers in a door track and can be opened or closed by pulling on the door handles.
Plug doors: The plug door system closes with a final inward movement (similar to most van sliding doors) that seals the door flush with the interior of the boxcar. This provides a much better seal than the sliding door boxcar. A rotating lever on the door activates a gear system to "plug" and "unplug" the door.
Originally, boxcars were loaded and unloaded by hand. More recently, they are unloaded by forklifts or other mechanical devices to make loading and unloading safer and faster.
With traditional boxcars, products are loaded and unloaded through the sliding or plug doors on the side of the rail car. These doors are located in the center or middle of the box cars.
Boxcars are named for their shape, which resembles a box.
To learn more about boxcars or shipping paper, canned goods, bagged agricultural products, lumber, packaged goods or just about anything else by rail, get in touch.
Want to learn more about other types of rail car equipment, including autoracks, covered hoppers, tank cars, hoppers, flatcars and gondolas? Check out our rail car type guide.
Related Articles