Flat cars are used to transport big loads which can be secured to the deck by various techniques to prevent to load from shifting or falling off the car and to the ground

Flatcars with stakes along the sides were also widely used to haul pipes or logs

flatcars with fences were used in the wild west to haul horses, frequently with a fence across the car to seperate each horse

Lionel produced flat cars with many, many different loads, and usually each flat car with load was heat stamped or otherwise numbered with a number uniquie to the load being carried

For instance, the flat car with a transformer for a load was numbered 6818 along the side of the flatcar; the flatcar with two i.R.B.M missiles was numbered 6823 along the side of the car

Many flat cars are listed under the 'space age and military' category on our archive