Freight Equipment

My father had an eye for interesting rolling stock. Driving by one day after work in the winter of 1986, the unusually low number (only 3 digits!) on this otherwise ubiquitous 50' Southern box caught his attention, and later that week we drove his 1948 half-ton Chevy pickup across town to snap a photo before the local carried it away.

Unusual tidbits like this made living at the end of a tired old branchline quite fun for this boy-railfan. When our Illinois Central Gulf branch was still supporting two locals a week, it was a great adventure to figure out from the car window driving through town what rolling stock had arrived and what had departed with every new local. Gondolas for the scrap yard, covered hoppers for the feed distributor, and frequent boxes ... for the lumber company, the ag supplier, and — in the case of Southern's #145 — the local beer distributor. From who-knows-where, half a dozen cars full of who-knows-what made their way to our little town of Covington week after week in the 1980s. That is, until the traffic gave out and rails were paved over. One wonders if Number 145 is still roaming the rails out there.

Also: What's up with that outfit? #childhood