Between 1929 and 1930, various builders such as Canadian Car & Foundry, Eastern Car Company, and National Steel Car Corporation built 7,500 50-ton steel Minibox boxcars for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Minibox was somewhat of a transition between the later version of the ARA 1923 and ARA 1932 design boxcar. Lasting in revenue freight service until 1983, these unique boxcars were mostly scrapped, however a few were sold to Pacific Great Eastern, and later used as BC Rail Maintenance of Way cars. The remaining cars that were not sold were used for various non-revenue maintenance tasks, like icicle breaking, tool cars, and storage until 1993.
