https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trap car

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/trap-ca...

An exception is made for LCL traffic, which is handled differently than car load traffic. Jeff Wilson's book, "Express, Mail & Merchandise Service" (Kalmbach), is an excellent read on the subject. Some excerpts follow. As specific prototype information is lacking for Lewistown, what follow are the LCL practices that have been established for the PRR Middle Division in HO Scale.

"Railroads handled a significant amount of packages, crates, and other shipments that didn't take up an entire boxcar. This is most commonly referred to as less-than-carload (LCL) traffic, and is also known as merchandise, package, and break-bulk freight."

"To efficiently handle merchandise traffic, railroads used a system of local depots, small-city freight houses, and huge freight terminals and transfer houses."

"Individual boxes, crates, and packages are collected at small depots, local freight stations, or large terminals. They are shipped to the closest large freight house and offloaded. There, shipments are combined for common destinations, reloaded in boxcars, and routed to large transfer stations near their destinations."

"There, the process goes in reverse, as packages are unloaded, sorted, and reloaded for their final destinations, eventually arriving at a local freight station or depot, where shipments would be loaded on trucks for final delivery."

Wilson also discusses the roles of various cars used in LCL service...

"A package or merchandise car usually refers to cars being handled on-line -- among freight houses, transfer stations, or combination depots on the host railroad."

Scheduled LCL exchange service (merchandise cars) is established between Lewistown and Altoona, Harrisburg, Northumberland, Newport, Mifflin, and Burnham. Multiple cars may be assigned to protect each schedule, as needed.

"A peddler or waycar were used to distrinute LCL to multiple stations along a route. They would be loaded at a larger freight house or transfter station. Peddler cars served stations too small to warrant receiving their own LCL car. The local may pause at a station for the peddler car to be unloaded; if the train had other work to do in town, the local would set out the peddler car at the depot until it was ready to depart and then pick it up."

The Newport Turn, Mount Union Turn, Milroy Turn, and trains S-70/S-71 each carry "peddler" LCL cars and pickup/deliver LCL traffic en route. These cars are all be routed to the downtown Lewistown freight station for shipment sorting. The process runs in reverse as well.

"A trap car was a car loaded with LCL items by a shipper on a rail siding at its own factory or warehouse. The shipper would load the entire car (or multiple cars), but the items were all individual shipments heading to multiple customers. The railroad would pick up this car and bring it to a nearby freight terminal, where it would be unloaded and the individual parcels sorted to their ultimate destinations."

Dedicated LCL cars (trap cars) are provided to Standard Steel Co. (Burnham). These cars are all be routed to the downtown Lewistown freight station for shipment sorting. The process runs in reverse as well.

- https://jbritton.pennsyrr.com/index.php/employee-relations/o...