Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

4-wheel, 20-ton Euoropean Service Boxcar

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 26, 2021

1. 4-wheel, 20-ton Euoropean Service Boxcar Marker

Inscription.
This type of boxcar was built in the United States and designed for service on the European rail system during World War II. They had European hook-and-link couplers and single axles without trucks. These were some of the most widely used railway boxcars; transporting food, soldiers, ammunition, animals and other war supplies. They were constructed out of plywood and therefore inexpensive and produced in massive quantities. Because of this, most did not survive and few were shipped back to the US after the war. Many of the remaining cars that stayed in Europe were used through the following decades.

This particular boxcar spent its service at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland with the Ammunition Training Department, teaching soldiers the handling and packing of ammunition on European railway cars.

Erected by US Army Transportation Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, World II.

Location. 37° 9.994′ N, 76° 34.488′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in Fort Eustis. It can be reached

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from Washington Boulevard just south of Madison Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 Washington Blvd, Fort Eustis VA 23604, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula,

in Hampton Roads,

in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 40-ton Railway Flatcar (here, next to this marker); Berlin Duty Train - Passenger Coach (a few steps from this marker); Diesel-Electric Locomotive, MRS-1 (a few steps from this marker); Steam Locomotive 2-8-0, (No. 607) & Tender

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 26, 2021

2. 4-wheel, 20-ton Euoropean Service Boxcar Marker

(a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named 40-ton Railway Flatcar (a few steps from this marker); Petroleum Railway Tank Car (a few steps from this marker); Rail Operations in the Transportation Corps (a few steps from this marker); Wrecking Steam Locomotive Railway Crane (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newport News.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 27, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 355 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 27, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.