American Freight Cars Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1825

1825: The Granite Railroad in Quincy, MA, employed primitive 4-wheel flatcars to carry granite slabs between a quarry and the river transport system.

Answer: Sprung wheels

The very first freight cars were flatcars. Because of their small size, iron frames were not needed until cars started getting much bigger. Round wheels are a given in any freight car and bogie trucks didn't happen until, again, cars started getting bigger.
But car builders realized very early on that cars needed some kind of cushioning to protect the cargo and lengthen the car's life and -poof- sprung cars appeared!

Answer: Enclosed freight cars

Enclosing freight cars had to do with American climate and the locomotives we used. Vicious summer heat, icy cold winters, baking deserts, and lots of rain are not good for freight, with was also exposed to flaming cinders pouring from the locomotive. Obviously, something had to be done: the enclosed freight car.

Answer: False

Freight cars were originally made from wood, then wood with iron frames, then steel. Certain parts of the car have always been made from iron, though: the couplers and the wheels were made of iron out of necessity.

Answer: 50 feet

The boxcar, often called the jack-of-all-trades freight car because of its widespread use hauling every good imaginable, is often about 40-50 feet long. Stockcars, when they were in widespread use, were about 30 feet long. Certain boxcars, known as hi-cube boxcars because of their high cubic foot capacity, can be as long as 93 feet from coupler to coupler.

Answer: Light Weight

Reporting marks tell dispatchers what kind of car it is, who owns it, etc. LT.WT. indicates the car's light weight. This is the car's weight when it is unloaded.

Answer: True

A plate C notation (EXCEEDS PLATE C) is applied when a freight car is too big to clear certain bridges, tunnels, etc. and therefore is restricted from some services.

Answer: General service tankcar

TA indicates that the freight car is a general service tankcar, with no special qualities or anything.

Answer: 6 wheels

Buckeye trucks are equipped with six wheels, making them perfect for cars that carry very heavy loads. A flatcar with two sets of buckeye trucks contain 4 more wheels than a normal freight car, which has eight wheels. Here's a little bit factoid that wouldn't fit anywhere else: It cost less for trucking companies to send their trailers by train than by truck, which I find very ironic.

Answer: $600

I hope you enjoyed my quiz! If you did, try my other quizzes. They are about steam, diesel, and electric locomotives. Soon to come: Passenger Cars, the quiz about, you guessed it: passenger cars!