A flatcar (also flat car) is a piece of railroad rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK). The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.

Flatcars are used for loads that are too large or cumbersome to load in enclosed cars such as boxcars. They are also often used to transport containers or trailers in intermodal shipping.

History

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Image:Loaded flat cars, covered loads.jpg|A string of flatcars carries tanks (under tarps) in April, 1943. Image:OP-12757.jpg|Midland Terminal Railway flat car #49 sits with a load of lumber at Bull Hill, Colorado in February, 1949. Image:Flat car - KCS 8985.jpg|Kansas City Southern Railway #8985, a flatcar seen in this May 29 2004, photo, is fitted with hitches for hauling trailers. Image:FEC 37066 20050604 WI Glen Haven.jpg|Florida East Coast Railway #37066 carries two shipping containers. as it passes through Glen Haven, Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River.

Specialized types

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Aircraft parts flatcars

Aircraft parts were hauled via conventional freight cars beginning in World War II. However, given the ever-increasing size of aircraft assemblies, the "Sky Box" method of shipping parts was developed in the late 1960s specifically to transport parts for the Boeing 747 and other "jumbo" jets of the time. The "Sky Box" consists of a two-piece metal shell that is placed atop a standard flatcar to support and protect wing and tail assemblies and fuselage sections in transit (originally, depressed-center or "fish belly" cars were utilized). ^*

Today, Boeing's 737 aircraft are shipped throughout the United States on special trains, including the fuselage.

Bulkhead flatcars

Bulkhead flatcars are designed with sturdy end-walls (bulkheads) to prevent loads from shifting past the ends of the car. Loads typically carried are pipe, steel slabs, poles, and lumber, though lumber is increasingly being hauled by centerbeam cars.

Centerbeam flatcars

Centerbeams are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, wallboard, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal I-beam, usually in the form of a Vierendeel truss, sometimes reinforced by diagonal members. They must be loaded symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other to avoid tipping over.

Heavy capacity flatcars

Heavy capacity flatcars are cars designed to carry more than 100 tons of lading. They often have more than the typical North American standard of four axles, and may have a depressed center to handle excess-height loads. Loads typically handled include electrical power equipment and large industrial production machinery.

Circus use

References

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See also

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• Gondolas
• Modalohr road trailer carriers
• Railroad car
• Transporter flatcar
• Well cars

Freight equipment | Flachwagen | 長物車 | 大物車