B&O No.270446 Boxcar

B&O No.270446 Boxcar

Name: B&O No.270446

Railroad of Record: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Type of Car: Boxcar, steel, 40', single door

Class: M-26A

Manufactured by: Standard Steel Car Company Date Built: 1927

Car Weight: 23 tons

Load Capacity: 50 tons

Inside Length: 40.5 feet

Cubic Capacity: 3056 cu. feet

During World War I, many boxcars were built with wooden bodies and steel underframes. Beginning in the early 1920s that began to change as boxcars were entirely constructed of steel. In 1923, the American Railroad Association created a standard design for the boxcar. The design was so successful that the B&O had 14,000 built between 1924 and 1931.The B&O No. 270446 was built by the Standard Steel Car Company in 1927. The No.270446 could carry 50 tons and was considered a perfect fit for any type of cargo.

Boxcars had been the railroad's most common general freight carriers for over 40 years. During the 1950s, as technology and the cost of freight cars increased, there was no longer a demand for these boxcars. Some of these boxcars cars survived into the 1970s when they worked as mobile warehouses for the railroads.