| GATX Corporation is the second largest railcar leasing company in North America, with over 168,000 freight cars of every type imaginable. Terre Haute, IN is the site of one of its maintenance facilities and storage yards. The site was originally a farm, but in 1942 it was bought by the government, which built an Army/Navy depot in only 7 months. The military used it for moving equipment on and off trains, as well as for storing munitions in underground bunkers. Among other things, the depot also handled amphibious vehicles, such as the Duck Boats that now carry tourists in Boston. The munitions dumps are gone now, as are the ramps and cranes needed for moving stuff on and off railcars, although some of the layout remains, with many of the yard tracks in pairs separated by swaths of open land. GATX bought the 103-acre facility in 1976 for $107,000, and uses it for storing cars not being leased and to maintain any cars assigned to this yard. The yard throat at the south end of the yard is abandoned, although the tracks remain in place. The track consists of rails rolled by Illinois Steel Co.'s South Works in 1894, which were taken from some other railroad and relaid here. These rails weigh less than 60 pounds/yard, and occasionally break under the weight of the yard switcher. On April 22, 2005 the Rose-Hulman Model Railroad Club was given a tour of the facility prior to a presentation at RHIT on railcar fleet management given by Paul Titterton, GATX's Director of Fleet Portfolio Management. | |||
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