The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel

The humble railway freight car, ``a brawny, toil-hardened vehicle ready for the long haul,'' transformed America between 1830 and 1910 by carrying the nation's goods cheaply and expeditiously. Full of the romantic appeal of trains, and boasting hundreds of rare photographs, sketches, blueprints and documents, this monumental study focuses on the construction and design of freight cars but also delves into yard operations, rate wars, work hazards and more. In an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of U.S. business, the interchange system permitting the free exchange of cars among rival railroad lines unified rail transport, shows the author. The replacement of wood-framed cars by steel cars around 1890 ushered in a freight revolution and pitted Charles Schoen, pioneer of the steel freight car, against crafty steelmaker Andrew Carnegie. Smithsonian curator White has produced a treasure trove for railroad buffs, historians and students of technology. (Nov.)