wood refrigerator railcars and other cargo railcars were used as sacrificial breakwaters when launching ships from the Manitouc shipyards to prevent the buildings on the next pier from being destroyed by the wave

see the video from minute 53 to 53:25 at https://youtu.be/AebhrzKz0d8

the ships were built for the C and O railroad who probably donated old, damaged, obsolete, or in need of repair railcars, knowing they'd be scrapped afterward