EL did own or lease a higher proportion of boxcars than some roads, roughly 58% of it's revenue freight car fleet by my rough calculation. In 1968 nationally, boxcar loadings were 8.5 million, about 30% of total revenue carloadings. Several factors to consider: 1. EL was primarily a merchandise carrier, lacking the substantial coal loadings of roads like PC, N&W and C&O. 2. The apparent boxcar preponderance is exaggerated by the fact that several other car types including tank, covered hopper and flats have a high proportion of private ownership. Relatively few tank cars are RR owned, and most TOFC traffic was carried by TTX flats (TOFC was 18% of EL revenue in 1968). This would make actual boxcar loadings significantly lower in percentage than boxcar ownership, and lessen the apparent difference with the national figure. Does anyone have carloading (as opposed to car ownership) stats for EL at the time? Paul B I agree. I was surprised to learn that such a large portion of the car fleet was made up of boxcars as late as 1969. Also, if I understand correctly, was it possible that 8-9% of the entire company's inventory of 70-ton open hoppers could be found in a single ore train? Gives me a new perspective on those Riverbed-Brier Hill runs. Jeff Larson ELHS #2683 The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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