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Southern Radio Car

Back in the days before Distributed Power Units had radio controls in the locomotives, Southern was the first railroad to figure out how to have mid and end train helpers, without requiring extra crews. This car was what they used. Inside an old boxcar, they built radio control receiver equipment, and added multiple unit hoses to the car. The car would be placed mid train, just before or after a locomotive or two, and act as the receiver. By doing this, they could run helper units without having to add radio control equipment to the locomotives themselves. The cars remained in service until the mid 90's, when they were finally phased out of service. One remains in service, though not in its original form. That one is sandwiched between a pair of locomotives, acting as a spacer so only one locomotive is on a bridge at any given time.