The flat car has long been a versatile and venerable car in the railroading industry. With four open sides, any commodity could be loaded onto the car without constraints. Starting in the mid-60s, a new group of 53’ 6” flatcars were built to accomodate each railroad’s needs. The cars were built with a wood deck, along with stake pockets on the sides of the car.
Many of these lasted through the 80’s and longer in MOW service fleets.