Were freight trains the more common means of transportation? Were freight trucks similar to what we use today in use? If so, what was the state of the country's fuel network, and was there anything analogous to truck stops?
My apologies if this seems a more basic sort of question than what is usual for this subreddit, but it is rather more complex than my weak google-fu has been able to help me with.
In a more general meta question, I have a bunch of unrelated questions regarding 1950s America, but I don't want to spam this subreddit with them. What is the etiquette here? Should I make one big thread, or space out several threads, or...?
Railroads experienced a strong growth in freight traffic during World War II and set records for freight ton miles in 1945 that would not be broken until 1966. During the 1950s, freight ton miles were rather flat in the railroad industry. The amount of freight loaded on railcars dropped significantly, but the freight they did move, went further. River boats, canals and pipelines all grew in market share during the 1950s, but the really significant gains were in the trucking industry. The trucking industry really hurt the railroad industry by taking a big bite out of the short haul market. It destroyed the railroad's Less than Car Load service and make deep inroads in the movement of high value finished goods. This freight had high classification numbers in the federally regulated freight tariffs and earned much higher freight rates than bulk goods, like grain or coal. The railroad's share of total freight revenue was 56 percent in 1950, but it fell to 29 percent by 1960.
Since 1935, Motor Freight was regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission, although agricultural products were exempt. Trucking freight rates for manufactured goods were higher than what the ICC allowed railroads to charge, but Motor Carriers had substantial service advantages. In 1950, when there were still less than 2 million miles of paved roads and no interstate highways, trucks could move freight at an average speed of 43 miles per hour, compared to the sluggish railroad industry's 16.8 miles per hour. In 1950, the trucking industry was still limited by 35 foot long semi trailers. That limit grew to 40 feet in 1956, 45 feet in 1968 and 48 feet in 1982. By 2002, there were twenty two states that allow semi trailers as long as 53 feet, with Texas and Oklahoma permitting trailers as long as 59 feet on their highways. Ironically, it was the railroad industry that pushed for the 1968 increase to 45 foot long trailers, because they could carry two of them on their flat cars, but they could not stop the 1982 increase to 48 foot long trailers and have been less than successful at holding the line at 48 feet. All states allow trucks to carry up to 80,000 pounds of freight, which was the railroad industry's standard for boxcars in 1950. Since then, the railroad industry has allowed much larger freight cars to enter service and modern boxcars can carry 120,000 pounds of freight. They have also worked more closely with the trucking industry to offer intermodal service and recaptured some of the less than car load service that they lost during the 1950s.
Source: "Trains versus Trucks: The Rise of Trucking in the 1950s sent a clear message to the railroads. Adapt or die." by Jim Giblin. pages 34-41 TRAINS magazine, March 2007
Perhaps too late but you may want to look into the creation of shipping containers Sea-cans and how that revolutionized shipping plus the addition of refrigeration to those containers