Chesapeake Bay. The first all-steel fish car was built in 1916. Fish car technology improved again in the early 1920s as the milk cans that had been used were replaced by newer tanks, known as "Fearnow" pails. The new tanks were about lighter than the milk cans and included integrated containers for ice and aeration fittings. One long car, built in 1929, included its own electrical generator and could carry 500,000 young fish up to long. Fish car use declined in the 1930s as fish transportation shifted to a speedier means of transport by air, and to trucks as vehicle technology advanced and road conditions improved. The US government operated only three fish cars in 1940; the last of the fleet was taken out of service in 1947. In 1960, Wisconsin Fish Commission "Badger Car#2" was sold to the Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society, where it is in the process of being restored as a part of the Society's collection of historic rolling stock. 2 Poultry cars From about 1890 to 1960, shipping live chickens and other birds by rail in special "henhouses on wheels" was commonplace. The cars featured wire mesh sides (which were covered with cloth in the winter to protect the occupants) and a multi-level series of individual coops, each one fitted with feed and water troughs. An attendant traveled on board in a central compartment to feed and water the animals. The cars were also equipped with a coal stove that provided heat for the center of the car. The concept is thought to have been the brainchild of William P. Jenkins, a freight agent for the Erie Railroad. Jenkins collaborated with a Muncie, Indiana poultry dealer by the name of James L. Streeter on the design of a specialized car designed solely for transporting live fowl. The Live Poultry Transportation Company was formed about the same time that the first poultry car patent was issued (, issued August 26, 1884). By 1897, the company had 200 units in operation. The Continental Live Poultry Car Company, a rival concern, was founded in 1890. Continental thought to dominate the market by offering larger cars, capable of transporting as many as 7,000 chickens in 120 coops, but the oversized cars failed to gain wide acceptance, and the firm closed its doors after just a few years in business. Modern conversions In the 1960s, the Ortner Freight Car Company of