Railroad cars owned and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway were some of the first to use roller bearings rather than "oil waste journal" boxes.
Henry Timken, a German immigrant, invented an improved bearing and founded the company in 1899.
[1] The Santa Fe was the first company to have roller bearing trucks made by Timken under their passenger cars, much to the delight of their passengers, and the bottom line for the company.
Timken commissioned the construction of a demonstration boxcar in 1943 that was first displayed at the 1948 Chicago Rail Fair.
It operated in regular service on the NP until retirement in 1957 and was subsequently scrapped.