The broad ax., 1897-05-08


dollars to cents there will be anywhere
from one to a dozen special cars in the
string, and the purposes they serve
are as varied as their ownership. The
dressed meat refrigerators are now so
well known as 10 excite no interest, IN
less it be the vague conjecture as to
how L,any millions of dollars are tied
UP therein, for the number Of these
travelling ice boxes is legion. Directly
the opposite Of the refrigerators are
the heater cars, cleverly contrived to
keep the contents at a fixed degree OF
temperature throughout the trip, and
therefore invaluable for shipping fruit
in cold weather. The heating Is done
Ey oil stoves. There are quite a mum
Der Of special fruit car companiS
which own cars especially equipped f.
the carriage Of fruit and produce IN
many classes. such as orange cars. cab
b2ge cars. melon cars, and so on almost
indefinitely. There is a pickle line, a
coffee line, numberless beer lines, and,
strangest OF all, a chicken or poultry
line, these latter cars being filled with
permanent coops and feeding and
watering facilities, intended for the
safe handling OF fowls OF all kinds.
There are furniture cars, buggy cars,
chair stock cars, ice cars. plate-giass
cars, crockery cars and indeed cars
for almost every known commodity
manufactured in sufficient quantities TO
make it worth while for the producers
10 build their own conyeyances. As 10
live stock cars, there are all kind,
from the palace or stable cars down &c
the plain everyday Slated affairs. and
1nlike most OF the other special We.
hicles. the stock cars can be used by
any shipper willing to pay the owne
nominal sum for the rent OF the ca.
over and above the usual freight charg.
imposed by the railroads, the adva1-
tage gained being the much better &C
comRcdations afforded by these spe-
cial cars than given in the regular
equipment of the railways. In tank
cars there are varieties for nearly
everything liquid. Petroleum, lard,
cotton oil, molasses. acid. tar. cider,
water and even whisky are a few OF
the commodities carried in tanks now
adays, says the st. Louis Evening Jour
nal. The owners of these private
cars get no direct benefit from their
sse. The contents must pay just the
same freight charges as IL carried in
railway company's cars. but the one
great advantage lies in the fact that
supply Of cars ready to load can al
says be depended upon, for the special
Tars when empty are promptly sent
ZONE or to their point OF origin, and
are not used in any other trade with
out the owners permission. The rail-
roads allow the owners a trifling sum
for mileage which serves to keep the
cars In repair but hardly yields any
great revenue TO them. OF course,
many of these special cars are built
because OF the special trade in which
serves to keep the cars in repair not
pay railroad company to tie up money
in furnishing the equipment necessary.
AS builders must conform to the rules
Of the master car builders, the private
cars are as safe to run as those owned
by the railroad companies, and indeed
many are superior to the average cars
in general use. A western inventor
has recently brought out a new idea In
a car which looks like a tank but which
revolves and can be used either for an
open or closed car. When the latter
is desired the goods are placed inside.
the tank turned half around and the
opening brought to the bed of the car,
when the conveyance becomes rain
and burglar proof The brilliancy OF
the idea has not yet brought about any
overwhelming desire for a supply OF
the odd vehicles on the part Of the rail
way managers.