Spreader #JX635

Spreader #JX635. . , Built: 1926 , Builder: O.F. Jordan Company , Built For: MacDougald Construction Co. , Class: Knuckle Brace , Weight: 85,000 lbs, The Spreader was a railroad car designed to spread or shape ballast profiles as well as clear snow in winter. The various ploughs, wings, and blades of a spreader allows them to build banks, clean and dig ditches, evenly distribute gravel, as well as trim embankments of brush along the side of the track. , The cars where operated with the use of air pumped into a massive tank located in the center of the car. The air was taken directly from the train's brake lines, and as the cars where not capable of moving under their own power, required a locomotive to pump the air and move the vehicle. The car featured central pneumatic controls, all mounted on a riveted chassis. , Spreader #JX635 was ordered in 1926 by Mr. Alex MacDougald. It was was shipped to him on November the 8th of that year and initially cost $10,500. , Mr Alex MacDougald, who was born Alexander (he dropped the "ander" from his name in order to speed up signing checks and other paperwork related to his company) was originally engaged in a profession as a lawyer. In 1916, he represented a construction company that was in dire financial straits. The company had some sizable contracts in que, and was going to lose a large amount of money. , Mr. MacDougald got involved and when the original company was dissolved, he took over it's equipment and it's contracts. In 1919 the MacDougald Construction Co. was formed. , MacDougald Construction Co. operated a growing business based in the Atlanta area. The company was involved in road grading and construction, dock-work, and had a number of railroad contracts. Enough so to own and operate a small fleet of switch locomotives. During the second world war, MacDougald worked on the Bell Bomber, later Lockheed Plant in Marietta, as well as built a dry dock at Charleston. MacDougald also built eight miles of Interstate 20 in Atlanta, from Hill Street near downtown to Candler Road in DeKalb County. , MacDougald assets were eventually sold to CW Matthews Contracting Co. of Atlanta and dissolved in 1977.