This black and white photograph shows a number of flatcars from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company being prepared for "circus" loading possibly at Corwith Yards in Chicago, Illinois. "Circus" loading is a term used to describe an older method of moving trailers on to flatcars (TOFC) whereby a truck backs the trailer up to a ramp placed at one end of a cut of cars. The loading process requires bridge plates to be at each end of all cars to enable the trailer and tractor to pass from car to car.
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