The type of railroad car is an "end door" type. They were designed for carrying automobiles, or larger loads. The end doors were only on one end though, meaning that to unload, you had to move the cars around after each was emptied. Bout twenty years ago, in a small town in Georgia, they stumbled across three of these cars abandoned in an old yard. Took some working to figure out, but the cars had apparently been lost in transit to a local dealership in Savannah. Sidelined due to something wrong with the trucks (bogies the cars ride on.) The cars were just forgotten. Well, when the crews found them, they asked what to do and were told to just scrap them. Opening the doors, they found that each car held three brand new Ford Galaxies, with all of six miles on the odomoter. The owner of the company doing the demolition took two for himself, and divided the remaining cars among his crew. One of the cars sold at Barret's auto auction some years back, with the winning bid being over one million dollars.

Building in background is the Hamm's Brewery at 1550 Bryant Street. See this photo across railroad loading docks. My guess is that the photo was taken at the former site of the Southern Pacific 16th Street freight depot, located around Treat Street between Florida and Harrison. The Shorpy photo and the one below both appear to be from around Treat Street. looking towards Florida. A 1960s track diagram for the Southern Pacific doesn't indicate a match for the freight sheds and ramp for unloading (see Zone 8 page 1). The track diagram does indicate track 828 was the "old 16th Street Freight Depot," suggesting the tracks had been rearranged before 1960.

Did not light up until 1949.

Reminds me of an urban legend current when I was young in Minnesota circa 1980. A boxcar (or two, or three) filled with 1949 Hudsons or '42 Chevys or (fill in dream car here) was found, lost by the railroad for decades, on a siding in Michigan or Ohio or Canada. Ah, well. Great photo.

I refer to the hood ornament which looks like clear plastic and just might have lit up at night.

I'm supposing that these are being unloaded not long before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

These represent the last model year of new cars available to consumers until World War 2 was finished. Sales of new automobiles were severely limited for the duration.

[You're a year off. These are 1941 Pontiacs; 1942 was the last model year for new cars before the war. - Dave]

Note that the Pontiacs are being unloaded from special end-door RR boxcars. The boxcars shown have now-obsolete features such as full-height ladders and roof walks. Examining the boxcar doors close up will reveal minor damage.

Autos are still shipped extensively by rail, but the current auto carriers have three decks!

Then wait 75 years and open it again.

What a time capsule that would be!