Artifact of the Month
This type of boxcar was built in the United States and designed for service on the European rail system during World War II
European Service Box Car on display at the TC Museum.
European Service Box Car in a port during World War II.
Inside the box car that is set up as a living-quarter with two soldiers sitting in chairs.
European Service Box Car front view on display at the TC Museum.
This type of boxcar was built in the United States and designed for service on the European rail system during World War II. They had European hook-and-link couplers and single axles without trucks. These were some of the most widely used railway boxcars; transporting food, Soldiers, ammunition, animals, and other war supplies.
The boxcars were constructed out of plywood, were inexpensive, and easy to produce in mass quantities. Because of this, most did not survive and few were shipped back to the U.S. after the war. Many of the cars that remained in Europe continued to be used throughout the following decades. This particular boxcar spent its service at Aberdeen proving Ground, Maryland, with the Ammunition Training Department, teaching soldiers the handling and packing of ammunition on European railway cars.