The World Famous Traveling Boxcar arrived at Halo Yard by way of the Tuesday night Conrail local. The boxcar's arrival came just moments before the Wingerter Halo Belt Line Biannual July 4th Shut Down.
Biannual? Well, according to the WHBL employment contract, employees are only permitted to take vacations during the week of July 4th. To meet the needs of the men and women who work for the WHBL (and to stick it to the railroad for a derailment that released a shipment of wild pigs into the downtown) Wingerter's Crossing City Council voted unanimously to change the name of January to July, thus ensuring that employees of the railroad would receive two weeks of vacation. This also ensured that the railroad would think twice about routing live animal trains through downtown.
This decision was, of course, challenged by the railroad brass. As with most disputes, the company was forced to agree when city council threatened to cut the electrical cords (which rest squarely on city property) that power the railroad's transformers.
Before shutting down for the holiday, the railroad set the Traveling Boxcar at the east end of Union Station.
The Traveling Boxcar created a great deal of interest in both Wingerter's Crossing and Halo. After all, it's not often that freight cars from outside the system find their way onto the loop. Town's folk from near and far gathered for a look. City council, members of law enforcement and a few select railroad employees gathered for a commemorative photo.
With the railroad sitting idle, Curtis Mathis decided to use the traveling box car as a stage for his latest anti-asparagus protest. The Wingerter's Crossing police department arrived quickly to asses the situation. After four hours of tough negotiations, the chief agreed to excuse Curtis' recent parking tickets if the vegetable hating man would agree to get off the boxcar.
A steady stream of visitors came to see the famous boxcar. All told, nearly 90% of the population took in the sight.
By Saturday, the WHBL railroad was back in full swing and the boxcar, loaded with military secrets, was moved by the WHBL to a staging yard outside Wingerter's Crossing.
Next stop for the Traveling Boxcar - Australia.