The cars are all oldsmobiles.
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Back in the day before vandalism required auto racks to be completely enclosed. Those were the days!
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| Posted by Mike on December 15, 2015 | |
Sweet! Check out the brand new grocery getter riding high! I was born in March of 76 and by the time I can remeber, these cars were old and beat.
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Actually, 1st car, top, left looks like a Monte Carlo and 2nd car, top, left, a Malibu Coupe. Oh yeah, I see the Olds units, for sure. What a great mix...love to park one of these auto racks in a museum and let the public see what was once mainstream American automobiles!
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Not Oldsmobiles, I see Chevy Monte Carlos and Malibus
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Chevy Malibu's and Monte Carlo's primarily.
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| Posted by xBNSFer on December 21, 2015 | |
Actually, I think by '77 open racks were already becoming the exception rather than the rule, though of course in service examples weren't immediately replaced, as seen here. Vandalism started to occur soon after multi-level auto rack cars were put into service, largely by truckers upset with the swift loss of automobile traffic BACK to the railroads, who were losing the auto traffic to rack style over the highway trailers from antiquated 50' box cars before the multi-level cars reversed the trend. Incidental damage unrelated to vandalism was also an issue, and also contributed to the push for enclosed racks.
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Interesting comment: "Vandalism...largely by truckers upset with the swift loss of automobile traffic". Really? When cars are vandalized at a dealership, could it be: "largely by railroaders upset with the swift loss of passenger traffic"? (LOL) I would tend to guess it was primarily kids throwing stones at a moving objects...something that operating crews regularly see.
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| Posted by xBNSFer on November 5, 2016 | |
The "interesting comment" had a basis. "While the automobile manufacturers welcomed this new mode of travel, the trucking industry did not. At one stage, bands of vandals would station themselves with acid atop railroad overpasses to drop their deadly chemicals on these automobile trains until a combination of railroad police riding shotgun aboard the trains, local police, and the FBI put this sabotage to a quick end." - American Railroads in Transition, by Robert S. Carper
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Vandalism yes, but "largely by truckers"?
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| Posted by xBNSFer on November 22, 2016 | |
Re-read the first line of the quote. The TRUCKING INDUSTRY did not like the railroads recapturing this business. And I don't think garden variety vandals bring ACID to overpasses, nor do they call in the FBI to deal with them. I'm just passing along what I've read, so if you want to further your questioning of it, I guess you'll need to take it up with Mr. Carper...
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