D&RGW box car #63457 was built in 1909 by the American Car and Foundry
Company. It is a 36-foot long, 40-ton capacity box car, one of 1,499 built. The sides
and doors are wood and the ends are steel of a type known as Murphy ends. The doors slide
open and the openings are 6' wide and 7' 3" high. Note that one truck is from a Chicago,
Rock Island & Pacific (CRIP) car.
When rescued from a salvage yard, much of the metal had been stripped from
it. It was also lacking a number, so a number from the lot of that era was selected.
This size car was disliked by shippers because it was so small. 36-foot box cars were becoming
scarce in the 1930's, and were virtually gone by 1950. This car is a rare museum piece.
The car was donated by W. T. Mitchell, former employee of the Southern
Pacific. It is painted freight car color and has white markings.
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