My friend and I scrap metal on the side and came across a very old boxcar...Old enought to have wooden sides...I cant even begin to guess how much something like this would weigh. looking around you all seem pretty knowledgeable and should be able to answer this asap. any insight is greatly appreciated!
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
Well, if the paint is still readable, on the side will be stenciled the empty weight and maximum gross weight. For a modern "100 ton" boxcar, typical figures are 63000 lbs empty and 263000 lbs gross, for a 200000 lb load limit.
If it's old enough to have wooden sides it's probably a much smaller capacity, perhaps 40 tons maximum load. I wouldn't want to venture anything more than a "w.a. guess" at its light weight, but that guess would be about 30000-40000 lbs.
Best bet is to see if the weights stenciled on the side are still legible.