Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1914 — Wooden Cars on Branch Roads. [ARTICLE]

Wooden Cars on Branch Roads.

“There will be wooden cars 15 years from now, but not on the big trunk lines. They will be relegated to the branch roads out in the west, where they can continue to do service. The chief value of steel cars is in their fireproof qualities.”

The total number, of passenger cars in the United States on December 31 last was 57,493, of which 46,926 were of wood, 7,271 of steel and 3,296 built with steel underframes. The report of a committee, which was printed in full in the Iron Age Gazette, showed that the total number of steel parlor, sleeping and dining cars in this country was 1,707, while 338 had steel underframes and 6,864 were of wood. Of the postal cars in operation 570 were of steel, 209 of steel underframes and 680 of wood. Of the day coaches 2,801 were of steel, 1,323 had steel underframes and 23,692 were of wood. Dividing the railroads of the country into three sections, the committee found that New England roads in 1912 had only 32 steel cars, 121 with steel underframes and 5,468 of wood.