The Philadelphia Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society

Established in 1936

One of the first boxcars ordered by Conrail after its inception was the B65A series, often referred to as "beer cars". Built in the spring of 1977 by Fruit Grower's Express in Alexandria, Virginia, the 190 cars were numbered 376001 to 376190 and were the only insulated boxcars built for Conrail. They were classified by the AAR mechanical designation of RBL (bunkerless refrigerator car with a minimum of 3" of insulation on the sides and ends and 3.5" on the floor, and equipped with an adjustable loading or towing device), with an AAR car type code of R610. The interior dimensions were 62' 6" long, 9' 4" wide and 10' 5" high. The exterior dimensions were 69' 6" long, 10' 8" wide and 15' 3" high, and were painted with the "large can opener" logo, which they still wear today. They came with cushion underframes and single 14' by 10' plug doors, and the interiors were fitted with dual pnuematic bulkheads. The volume was 6076 cubic feet and weight capacity was 154,000 pounds. These Plate C cars originally were in assigned service.

Conrail cars have become a rarity in Lansdale PA, so car number 376059, which arrived on CSX train C746 on December 24 2003, has received the full treatment here.