Epilogue: An India Relish Car
H. J. Heinz was proud of his accomplishments, and he saw no reason to be timid or restrained about marketing his products. He had hundreds of special freight cars built, and he had their sides painted in eye-catching hues, so that they would serve as rolling billboards. Whenever they traversed America's countryside, they unabashedly advertised the products they carried.
Obviously, no color photographs from that era exist, but have no fear, reader. After checking several color print publications, I digitally altered a portion of this photograph (taken at Heinz headquarters) to provide a glimpse of how these cars' "billboard" sides looked. Nifty, huh?
created using a black-and-white photograph from historicpittsburgh.org
More than sixty years after I first wondered about them, I have answers to those old questions from my childhood. Yes, Hicksville, you really once had a Heinz pickle works. And yes, pickle cars once rode the country's rails - not to mention vinegar cars, ketchup cars, India relish cars, and (believe it or not) apple butter cars.
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