I will never do that again…

The box car

This is a classic example of a rarely found materials and lessons learned.  When I first discovered these in a salvage yard in South Dallas, I could not figure out what they were but they were captivating.  While speaking with the owner he explained they were panels from a dilapidated railroad box car.  How cool is that?  These things were a massive 2+ inches thick and 10+ feet long.  Each plank was about 18 inches wide and held together with steel dowels every few feet.  In fact, there was a lot of metal embedded in these, both by design, as well as foreign materials from being used over the years.  When I returned recently to purchase them… they were gone. 


I learned a lot from these though. Given the shape of the panels, I realized how few of them could be used in their current condition without re-work. I began thinking about ways I could machine them. Their scale, the embedded foreign materials, and the general condition of these panels helped create the requirements for my new studio equipment.  With no time to dwell on the loss, I quickly adverted my attention to finding similar materials and made a mental note to always have a truck on hand and a place to store stuff.