The boxcar is the most versatile enclosed freight car, featuring a rectangular steel body with sliding side doors. It provides weather protection for a wide range of general merchandise and packaged goods. Modern boxcars are typically 50 to 60 feet long and ride on four-axle trucks for heavy loads. They are the workhorse of carload freight and can be found in virtually every freight classification yard.
Plain steel box with plug or sliding doors; used for general merchandise not requiring temperature control.
Foam or fiberglass insulation in walls, floor, and roof to reduce temperature swings; no mechanical refrigeration.
Interior load-restraint devices such as load bars, Evans DF (damage-free) loaders, or bulkheads for shipments prone to shifting.
Taller body (up to 15'6" exterior) built to ride on lower-profile trucks, maximizing cubic capacity for light-density freight.
Boxcars are used for any general merchandise that requires protection from weather but not refrigeration. They are particularly common for paper, consumer goods, and auto parts moving in carload lots.