Moving Goods by Rail

Written by Kathy Lang, Curator, Steamtown National Historic Site

Prior to the 1860s, Americans’ lives were heavily affected by where they lived and which resources were close by. When trains began to carry goods and people across the country, these limitations were removed.

Steamtown National Historic Site provides visitors with a glimpse of how locomotives and rolling stock work, as well as what freight railroads shipped. The park museum collection includes rolling stock, objects, and historic photographs and documents that demonstrate how the railroad industry changed the availability of goods such as milk, livestock, and grain, as well as the US mail.

Due to the growth of railroads, fresh milk went from a local to a long-distance industry. Initially, farms produced milk for their own consumption and to supply their immediate locale. Much of what was sold was made into cheese or butter. In 1842, the first shipment of milk was sent by rail in 60-quart cans in boxcars, with ice on top of the cans. This gave way to early refrigerated boxcars with ice bunkers on each end. These cars were generally hitched to passenger trains. With the introduction of refrigerated cars, milk could be shipped hundreds of miles. Milk was weighed, cooled, and loaded on the milk specific boxcars at milk stations all along railroad routes. Ice was loaded into the bunkers at the start of the route and then replenished at ice houses along the route. By the start of the Civil War, milk revenue was an important part of railroads’ income.
See the images of the ice car and milk station, along with the historic letter and milk bottle.

The demand for fresh milk continued to grow, and in 1921 the first tanks were installed in a milk car to replace the cans. Although the trucking industry is often cited as the major cause of milk revenue loss to the railroads, the decrease in passenger train service during the 1960s was equally detrimental.

Grain was first shipped in boxcars. Workers used special tools and wore specific clothing to load and unload grain.
See the historic photograph of the grain car.

Livestock such as cattle and sheep were once transported by railroad. Cattle could be loaded at the railyard or along stops on the route. Some railyards, such as the Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western railyard in Scranton, had areas or “pens” where the cattle were held before, during, and after shipping. Livestock cars were boxcars with slatted sides to allow for ventilation. Initially, the cars did not have built-in areas for food and water, so cattle would be unloaded and reloaded along the route. However, the health of the cattle suffered, and livestock cars were eventually outfitted with water and food troughs.

The care of cattle during transportation was codified by Congress in 1906 with the Twenty-Eight Hour Law. This law required the watering and feeding of livestock every 28 hours.
See the images of the railyard layout showing a stock pen.

Poultry were first shipped in coops in boxcars. This was not an efficient method, and in 1893, the Live Poultry Car was unveiled at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This car included provisions for water and food, as well as space for an attendant who cared for the poultry in transit. Poultry was held in specific areas in a railyard prior to shipment. Railroads hired inspectors to serve as security and to monitor poultry while in the railyard.
See the badge and the image of the poultry car.

The United States Postal Service relied on the Railway Mail Service from the 1860s to the 1970s. Mail was sorted and delivered to train stations via Railway Post Office Cars. Clerks sorted and bagged mail, and tossed the bags from the moving train at designated stations. Mail bags were collected at stations using a mail hook and a crane. There are no more Railway Post Office cars in service today, and only some bulk mail is moved by train.
See images of the post office car, mail hook, and bag.

Railroads changed Americans’ lives in many ways, from broadening business and increasing availability of goods, to making the nation more connected. While the mileage stayed the same, railroads lessened the distance between people, goods, and places.

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Sources:The American Freight Railroad by John H. White Jr., pages 123, 244-270, 284-290. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.
The American Railroad Passenger Car by John H. White, Jr., pages 476-470. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.