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A Canadian National Railways ledger book, used to record cash receipts and to register boxcar loads. A boxcar, for instance, was only allowed to remain in the yard for 48 hours, after which it had to pay a certain per diem 'demeurage' rate. In the early parts of the century, such log books were kept in every station to keep track of where a boxcar was moving and whether it reached its destination. Nowadays, where the trains still run, the technology has advanced astronomically. There are actually silicon chips in the boxcars which interact with receivers at certain junctures on the rail line. (Railway Heritage Association, photo by Tom MacDonald)