The Red Cloud chief., 1897-04-16

YIN Ntahhs ~ 80
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 al their ownership. The
dressed meat refrigerators are now 30
well known as to excite no interest, un-
less 1t be the vague conjecture as to
how many 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
by oil stoves. There are quite n num-
Der OF special fruit car companies
which W cars especially equipped for
the carriage of fruit and produce In
bulk, and these cars are divided into
many classes. such as orange ears. cab
bage 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 filed 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, p~late-glass
cars, crockery cars. and indeed AIRS
for almost every known commodity
manufactured In sufficient quantities to
make II worth while for the producers
to build their W ~conveyances. AS to
live stock cars. there are all kinds,
from the palace or stable ears down to
the plain everyday Slated affairs, and,
unlike most OF the other special We
hicles. the stock cars can be used by
any shipper willing to pay the owner
a nomina sum for the rent Of the car,
over and above the usual freight charge
imposed by the railroads, the advan-
tage gained being the much better &C.
commodations 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 o.
, 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 theil
use. The contents must pay Just the
same freight charges as II carried In
railway company's cars. but the one
great advantage lies In the fact that
a supply OF cars ready to load can al.
2 ways be depended upon, for the special
cars when empty are promptly sent
home or to their point OF origin, ant
are not used in any other trade with.
, out the owners permission. The rail
, roads allow the owners a trihing sun
: for mileage which serves to keep tn.
cars In repair but hardly yields any
great revenue to them. OF course
many of these special cars are bull
because Of the special trade In which
serves to keep the cars In repair no
pay a railroad company to tie up money
in furnishing the equipment necessary
As builders must conform to the rulel
Of the master car builders, the privat,
cars are as safe to run as those owned
by the railroad companies. and indeed
many are superior to the average car
In general use. A western inventor
has recently brought out a new idea II
a a which looks like a tank but which
revolves and can be used either for al
open or closed car. When the latte
is desired the goods are placed inside
the tank turned half around and tn,
opening brought to the bed OF the car
|. when the conveyance becomes rail-
!, and burglar proof. The brilliancy o
:. the idea has not yet brought about an!
, overwhelming desire for a supply O
the odd vehicles on the part OF the rail-