Comments

Volume 8, Issue 41 - Feature #2156

Branson Family Farm - Burlington, OK

Just guessing but if the rr ran thru the farm, those boxcars may have been in a derailment near there at some time and the box cars were purchased as scrap by whoever was living on the farm at that time and used the boxcars for storage. That's quite often done.

Anita Cheatum - 2007-09-02 21:35:13

An old timer from Burlington says (regarding the Branson Farm) that when the railroad converted to metal cars, the wooden ones were cheap and plentiful. A contractor would deliver one for $100 so they were often used for granaries. Occasionally people lived in them temporarily until a proper home could be built. Numerous boxcars are still located at farms throughout this area. The discards were not insulated so they were very cold in the winter. One resident said you could see the stars through the boards at night! B

Bonnie Haas - 2006-10-15 18:42:06

I come from Alva, OK originally and I still have a brother living in the Burlington are now. He has a boxcar on his land and if you would like I can get in touch with him and see if maybe he knows how the boxcars around in that area were deposited on lands and left behind.

Jenni Latza - 2006-10-15 11:43:22

When I was a young man growing up in NW Oklahoma these things sat numerous places where they were used for different uses. Some were there for storage of things while others were used as graineries for storage of grain at harvest time similar to the use of round metal bins for storage today. Others lived in them, as we have seen. They were usually trucked into the location and set down on foundations, possibly with cranes. Today, some folks use semi-trailer vans in a similar manner. Also, in today's world, I have seen covered hopper rail cars set on "stilts" such that a truck could be driven under it. Grain/animal feed is stored in them.

James E Bradley - 2006-10-14 17:28:03

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