Those severely deformed ladders and grab irons would easily render this car unusable if it was employed in 'interchange service" with the national rail network. I presume that it is used in "isolated service," hence no one gives a flying hoot about safety standards.

I had the pleasure of knowing a few railheads that worked during this period. They worked hard, drank hard and generally lived hard. And on occasion some of their associates died hard. The Hours of Service Law was set at 16 hours at the time. Webster's definition of 'tough' fell short.

The rail car in the picture is an air dump. The cargo container rotated slightly along the long axis of the car, enabling the contents (ore in this case) to be quickly dumped wherever desired. The dump was activated by compressed air, hence the need for multiple air hoses. On occasion an air dump car would self activate while moving on the main, resulting in some interesting outcomes.