I've been watching this thread for a while but never commented. Just to clarify for myself, a coal car is an open top car where coal is dumped in at a coal mine for use at another destination. If a coal car has access to the interior, it would probably be from an exterior metal ladder at one side of the car. It's
not a traditional freight (boxcar) that has a closed top and sliding doors to access the interior. According to Wiki, traditional boxcars were still being used as coal cars in the early part of the 20th century but the practice was in disuse by the time this UID died because of the difficulty loading and unloading coal.
So I'm going to presume he was found in a coal car, an open top one. That means if the UID voluntarily accessed the container he did so after the coal had been deposited into the car. It would bury someone in seconds if they'd climbed into an empty car.
I suppose it's also likely that the UID jumped into the car from a bridge after it was loaded to land on top of the coal. That would suggest the UID was familiar with the timetable of loading up coal cars and when they departed because someone unaware jumping into an empty one meant being crushed and suffocated by tons of coal. Conversely, if he was murdered, it's possible that someone threw him into the coal car also from a bridge (if he was found on the top of the coal); it would be very difficult to hoist a corpse up to the top of a coal car on one of those little ladders. If the UID
was murdered then it's possible someone at a coal mine dumped his body in it knowing it was going to be filled with coal. That option raises a few questions. If the UID had no coal dust in his lungs it would mean he was dead before he was thrown in which could focus on people who worked at the coal mine as being prime suspects.
I don't think we've ever been told COD. Has it been classified a homicide?
Since the UID's location was discovered at a power plant I presume the coal was delivered to that location. It would have been through the coal dumping process that he was discovered, IMO. I've just spent some time looking at YT videos of coal being dumped into coal cars and also being released at the destination point. They are pretty impressive set-ups and kind of transfixing. Here's a couple of links; one for filling a coal car and another for releasing the coal.
Granted these videos reflect very modern and high tech processes but they are probably just a very sophisticated take on a 50 year old practice.
As to his clothing and physical appearance. What type of undies did most guys wear in the 70s? Judging by this compilation of styles they were all over the map
Ridiculous 1970s Male Underwear Ads
Style was way over the top in those days: long fringed jackets, wild colours, tight fitting jeans, lycra, etc. Think the funk band Earth Wind and Fire, ABBA, Sly and the Family Stone. For me, his clothes don't really figure in whether this person was gender fluid but his nails do give me pause. When they say long do they mean long and manicured like a woman's nails or nails that grew just over the top of the finger? I've seen homeless men with long dirty fingernails as well as people with obvious mental health issues.
What could all those old scars be related to? Unfortunately, I think they may relate to childhood physical abuse. Also, he had an extra rib, a cervical rib. That's a pretty rare condition. It can cause definite physical issues (thoracic outlet syndrome) but he may have been of an age and a weight where the problems hadn't presented yet. Sorry, for such a long missive.
