Some folks find it easy to forget that most freight cars arc bought to serve a particular market need. We have three freight cars, and each has been designed for a particular type of service. SP's B-70-32 boxcars certainly fit this description. These fifty-foot products of 1966 and 1967 were purchased by SP specifically to haul appliances. Relatively speaking, appliances make light loads, so going to an extra height let the interior reach up to 12-feet 7-inches, allowing an extra row of ranges or dishwashers on the top. A single 10-foot 6-inch Youngs town sliding door was sufficient for each side, but the car was equipped with Hydra-Cushion underframes to limit the damage to this new kitchen automation. A few years later, in 1970, Chevrolet and Southern Pacific teamed up to create a car for a very specific purpose. The automaker was ramping up to produce its first subcompact car, the Chevy Vega. With model years from 1971 to 1977, the majority of production would be at Chevy's Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant and they would need reliable and inexpensive transportation for these little cars. The Verta-Pac was designed to hold 30 cars instead of the usual 18 you could load onto a triple-deck auto car. The secret was to hang the cars like bats, heads down with the roofs pointed to the inside. The sides swung down with fifteen doors on each side. The car would be maneuvered onto the ramp-like door. Then it would be drained of all fluid while it was tied down.
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