63' Pulpwood Flat Car

Prototype Information

Marine Industries Limited (MIL) built the 63-foot pulpwood flat car in the 1970s. The company designed these cars to boost timber transport efficiency for Canadian railroads. MIL equipped the cars with heavy-duty steel bulkheads and a V-shaped floor. This floor sloped toward the center to keep logs secure during transit. Most of these cars went to the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads to handle the rugged conditions of the northern wilderness.

These 63-foot cars became a staple on North American branch lines and mainlines. Their extra length provided a much higher capacity than older 50-foot designs. Railroads used them to move raw logs from forests to pulp mills for decades. As pulpwood transport shifted, some railroads retired these cars or moved them into maintenance-of-way service. Even with these changes, the MIL design stands as a key example of specialized equipment for the timber industry.