this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2026
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Today I Learned

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[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago

Not boxcars, no. But up to the 50s we had electric rail in my area that handled panel-van kind of packages from station to station, via shipping cars hooked to the same train as passengers.

Then pneumatic tires and gasoline-powered buses got popular and they killed electric rail. We still haven't the reach, speed, or versatility as we had then, since buses need to fight traffic against cars.