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Flatcars are the progenitor of every type of freight car ever employed by the railroad industry. Indeed, it sounds rather outlandish but is basically the truth. The car also predates common-carrier railroads themselves by first being used in the mid-1820s to haul large stones in New England. Throughout the mid-19th century the design of the flatcar remained virtually unchanged thanks to its redundant, flat deck layout allowing it to handle numerous commodities.
Like the well car used in intermodal service, autoracks are another specialized car used by the railroad industry to move a specific product (in this case automobiles). While some form of car has been used to haul autos by train since virtually the first Model-T rolled off the assembly line in early 20th century, it was not until the 1960s that railroads began developing a car custom-tailored to move specifically automobiles. Prior to that time railroads relied on their most trusted apparatus to handle freight, the ubiquitous boxcar. They were later retrofitted with racks to handle about four vehicles but little other changes were made.
Note #1: I will combine shipping for multiple items. Please purchase the items but do *NOT* pay. I will review and calculate shipping as close as to what I have to pay. I will then forward an invoice with the adjusted shipping. If you do pay ahead of this recalculation I will refund the shipping difference as part of preparing the items for shipment.
Note #2: I want you to be happy with your purchase and would appreciate you leaving positive feedback. In the event you are not, please contact me immediately before leaving feedback so we may resolve it. Thank you.
Note #3: If not previously stated item(s) come from a smoke-free environment with cats.
Note #4: This is a Grandma & Grandpa shop. We have a 4 business day shipping window (this means that if you pay for your order on a Friday it may not get shipping until the following Thursday). We do combine shipping especially when we are asked about it.
If you want combined shipping, please purchase all your items in one order. If you purchase items in more than one order, send us a message so that we know about the additional items and box the orders together. (When items are bought in multiple orders, we do not always notice they were bought by the same person unless we are notified by the buyer.) We refund extra shipping charges when combined shipping is requested. If we ship items separately, we do not issue a shipping refund.
For our International customers: YES!! we do combine shipping. The most economical way for you to buy multiple items from us is for you to send us a list of the items you want to buy. Do not purchase them as they are listed!! (This leads to higher than necessary fees & shipping.) Send us a complete list of all the items you want. Then we will cancel the listings for the items and turn them into a special listing just for you (We'll send you the listing named before making it active). It will have your full purchase with the correct shipping box size and weight. This saves you on the international fees & shipping.