Re: Crawley Lumber Company on Flickr

karl1459 Wrote:
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> It seems to me, after reading histories of several
> of the smaller loggers, that it was common
> practice to purchase a small number of assembled
> cars, than a larger quantity of hardware kits.
> Given that literacy was not a given in the
> 1880's-1910's having a assembled pattern may have
> been of greater value than blueprints and
> instructions.

Seems like not just the loggers.
When the Carson & Colorado in 1880 or 1881 bought the LaMothe pipe-frame flat cars and boxcars, only one car was shipped assembled. Mr. Yerington, the C&C President, was upset that the balance of the order came as kits to be assembled.

Part of the shipment of parts was lost on the way West to the C&C and so three boxcars were completed as flat cars.

BN