Editing Autorack (section)

===Vert-A-Pac and Stac-Pac===
<!-- [[Vert-A-Pac]] redirects here. -->
[[File:Vert A Pac(2).jpg|thumb|left|[[Chevrolet Vega|Chevy Vegas]] loaded on Vert-a-pac]]

Both railroads and automakers wanted to eliminate theft and damage from vandalism and weather, thus reducing shipping costs. They also wanted to increase the number of vehicles carried per rail car for the same reason. Toward that end, in 1968 [[General Motors]] and the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] jointly began work on development of a radical new rail car designed to carry the [[Chevrolet Vega]], a new compact car being developed by GM. Known as '''Vert-A-Pac''', the rail cars would hold 30 Vegas in a vertical, nose-down position, versus 18 in normal tri-level autoracks. Each Vega was fitted with four removable, cast-steel sockets inserted into the undercarriage that locked into the hooks on the bottom-hinged doors that made up the car side.<ref>Popular Mechanics, October 1969, page 151</ref>

The prototype car, SP 618000 was turned out in December 1968 and tested through 1969.<ref>Railway Locomotives and Cars July, 1969</ref><ref>Southern Pacific Bulletin November, 1970</ref> Chevrolet conducted [[vibration]] and low-speed crash tests to make sure nose-down Vegas would not shift or be damaged in railcar collisions. Chevrolet's goal was to deliver Vegas topped with fluids and ready to drive to the dealership. To do this Vega engineers had to design a special engine [[oil]] baffle to prevent oil from entering the No. 1 cylinder, [[automotive battery|batteries]] had filler caps located high up on the rear edge of the case to prevent acid spilling, the carburetor float bowl had a special tube that drained [[gasoline]] into the vapor canister during shipment, and the windshield washer bottle stood at a 45-degree angle. Plastic spacers were wedged in beside the powertrain to prevent damage to engine and transmission mounts. The wedges were removed when cars were unloaded. The rail car doors were opened and closed by means of a [[forklift truck]].<ref>Collectable Automobile. April 2000 p.37 "Riding the rails: Shipping Vegas by Vert-a-pac."</ref>

The first production Vert-A-Pacs entered service in April 1970; the last ones entered service in January 1973. Besides Southern Pacific, the [[Baltimore & Ohio]], [[Burlington Northern]], [[Denver & Rio Grande Western]], [[Florida East Coast]], [[St. Louis–San Francisco Railway|Frisco]], [[Illinois Central Gulf]], [[Louisville & Nashville]], [[Milwaukee Road]], [[Missouri Pacific]], [[Penn Central]] (under [[Merchants Despatch|Merchants Despatch Transportation]]), [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]], [[Seaboard Coast Line]], and [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] operated Vert-A-Pacs. All were withdrawn from service at the end of the 1977 Vega model year and were reracked with conventional tri-level racks.

Another joint General Motors-Southern Pacific automobile rail car was the Stac-Pac. It was designed to carry 12 high-end Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac models in four removable fully enclosed tri-level containers per {{Convert|89|ft|m|adj=on}} flat car.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= |magazine=[[Railway Age]] |page= |date=June 26, 1972 }}{{Title missing|date=January 2022}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2022}} The first production Stac-Pac cars entered service in October 1971. Besides SP and its Cotton Belt subsidiary (SSW), Stac-Pac flat cars were contributed to the pool by the Santa Fe and Trailer Train, with the containers being supplied by ATSF, BN, D&RGW, FEC, MILW, PC (MDT), RI, Southern Railway, SP, [[Cotton Belt Route]], [[Union Pacific]], and by General Motors itself. All of the cars and containers were withdrawn from service at the end of the 1976 model year.