Hoppers

All of my ops sessions to this point have been the same basic session. I have a group of waybills I created years ago for testing, and a number have been lost along the way. Thing is, this hasn't really been noticeable during a session, at least not as far as I can tell. Even from the same starting point, the operators handle the movements differently each time.

Part of me has wanted to compile a "full" list of potential sources and destinations for each car I own, and also a variety of waybills for each one so that they'll never be running the same route more than once. The reality is, this largely isn't necessary.

This process started due to an entirely different project. When I was looking to order some parts from Bowser, I noticed they were selling coal loads for hoppers made by a variety of manufacturers. So I decided to order a few to see how they looked. In the meantime, I decided to start adding real coal on top of the plastic loads that came with a bunch of hoppers. I also modified those loads to they would sit deeper into the hopper and the new coal wouldn't sit too high. I found I could modify Kadee loads to fit the Intermountain hoppers. It also led to an assessment of what cars I still wanted to acquire. As a result, I now have the complete hopper roster I'd like, but quite a few are still in kit form.

New Britain Yard looks a lot like I'm modeling coal country here. This is about half the roster. I need to finish the resin kits, lettering the MTH USRA hoppers, and modifying the Bowser "fishbelly" hoppers. Until then, the mix is a bit off.

The Bowser loads are real coal, and look like an anthracite load to me. That's great, because the majority of the retail coal should be anthracite. But for the industries I wanted the bituminous loads to look different. I have some real coal (I think) that came from Scenic Express years ago. That looks shiny like anthracite. I also had some Smith & Sons cinders left (which I love), and that looked more dusty, like bituminous. I found some old Highball coal but it's a bit more grey than I'd like. I also think it's too clean.  Bituminous is very dusty compared to anthracite. 

In this photo, the Bowser load is the lower left. One of my anthracite loads is the upper left.

The lower right is the Smith & Sons (I'd love one more bottle, I'm out).

The upper right is Highball Coal. 

So for the waybills, I need to identify sources and match them to industries in New Britain. I hunted down a lot of industry publications, like the Pennsylvania Anthracite or Bituminous Annual Reports published annually during that era by the state, along with railroad shipping guides and other similar documents. I started by looking at the retail brands sold in New Britain and locating the largest collieries for those brands. I also looked for the largest non-branded ones for additional suppliers.

Because the waybills will only be handled by the agent at a desk, I'm making them full sized. As much as a huge spreadsheet and loads of waybills might be interesting, I really only one per car to start. So that's what I'm doing, creating one bill for each car that I have in service. Not all will be used every session.

I currently have 39 hoppers ready for service.

Anthracite

1 - D&H (Kadee)

5 - Erie (Broadway Limited, Intermountain, JJL)

2 - Reading (Kadee)

Bituminous

6 - B&O (Broadway Limited, MTH, Proto 2000)

1 - Berwind (Rapido)

1 - C&I (Intermountain)

3 - C&O (Intermountain, MTH)

1 - CRR (Intermountain)

1 - Montour (Intermountain)

1 - N&W (Broadway Limited)

1 - O&W (Rapido)

Either

5 - NYC (Broadway Limited, Kadee, Tichy/Intermountain)

11 - PRR (MTH, Rapido)

The Tichy/Intermountain NYC hopper is incorrectly painted black, though...

In theory, any of the hoppers could be carrying any type of coal. But I'm assuming that most will be loaded on their home road, or close, so I'm basing the probable loads on that.

On-Layout Industries in New Britain receiving Anthracite

• Berson Brothers
• City Coal & Wood
• D&K Coal
• Household Fuel
• Shurberg & Sons
• Stanley Svea

On-Layout Industries in New Britain receiving Bituminous

• Landers, Frary & Clark
• New Britain Gas Light Co
• P&F Corbin
• Parkmeadow Lofts
• Russell & Erwin
• Stanley Works

That's twelve industries.  Many of these will receive more than one load at a time, plus there will be a number empties on-layout to pull. So I suspect I'll need 20-30 during a session, although not every car will necessarily move. During a session where there are multiple through trains (up to six) I will need a few more.

Railmodel Journal Index

Railmodel Journal was, in my opinion, one of the best railroad modeling magazines published. 

The primary interest for me are the Freight Cars of the '50s series of articles, a feature in most issues. These focused on a specific model and the prototypes that match it and are great articles by a who's who of prototype modeling pioneers. While many of these articles have been expanded upon in other publications (such as Railway Prototype Cyclopedia), they are still full of useful information and are the best place to start to identify the accuracy of models released through 2008 when RMJ ceased publication. I note plastic models that have been released since. I only mention other resin kits if the article is about a kitbash, since the resin kit would be the easier (and often more accurate) option.

This is simply a re-organized and reformatted list primarily copied from the RMJ site which can be accessed at the Internet Archive. Like the RMJ site, you can search this page with the search function in your browser. I've only included HO scale info (because that's what I compiled), and only those articles that cover prototype info and specific models. 

I list individual entries by road name, provided that info was in RMJ's index. 

All of these articles are available at Train Life online for free. I've listed them in the following format:

Prototype. Model. Author. Issue.

40-FOOT BOX CARS

• 40-foot all-steel box cars. Accurail/Des Plaines/Sylvan. Swain. 10/00, 1, 3/01.
• 1937 AAR box cars. IMWX. Hendrickson. 7/94.
• 1937 AAR ACF box cars. IMWX/Red Caboose. Hawkins/Wider/Long, 7/91.
• 1937 AAR ACF box cars. IMWX/Red Caboose. Hendrickson. 11/92.
• 1937 AAR ACF double-door box cars. Red Caboose. Hendrickson. 1/98.
• 1937 AAR wood-side box cars with 5/4 Dreadnaught ends. Athearn/Sunshine. Lofton. 2/94.
• 1941 Modified AAR box cars. Athearn/Intermountain/Sunshine. Hawkins, 8, 10, 12 /96, 3/97.
• 1944 AAR box cars. C&BT. Hawkins/Wider/Long. 10, 11/89, 2, 7, 10, 11/90, 6/92.
• 1944 AAR box cars. C&BT. Hendrickson. 12/89.
• 1944 AAR box cars. Branchline/C&BT. Hawkins. 10, 11/99, 1/00.
• 1944 AAR box cars. Kitbash. Accurail/McKean. Hawkins. 4/94.
• 1944 AAR single- and double-door box cars. Branchline. Hawkins. 11/99, 1/00.
• 1944 AAR double-door box cars. C&BT. Hawkins 6/92.
• 1944 AAR double-door box cars. C&BT. Hawkins/Wider/Long. 1/90.
• 1944 welded double-door box car. Kitbash. Accurail. 4/94.
• The term "Interim" applied to the ends in these articles is a misnomer. Improved Dreadnaught End was the manufacturer's (SREM) trademarked name, no "interim."
• 1955-1961 AAR box car. Branchline/Red Caboose. Hawkins. 7/99.
• ATSF 1890-1900 era box and stock cars. 12/02
• ATSF 1944 AAR box cars. C&BT. Hendrickson. 9/89.
• ATSF Bx-11/12/13 box cars. Westerfield. Hendrickson. 5/95.
• B&O M-26 single-door box car clones Red Caboose/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 6/98, 11, 12/01.
• C&O 1937 AAR Rebuilt 40-foot box cars. Pitzer. 5/96.
• CN 1-1/2-door single-sheathed 40-foot box car. Accurail. Hendrickson. 4/93.
• CN 1916-1917 40-foot single-sheathed box cars from Accurail/Sunshine. Hendrickson. 2/93.
• CN 1929 40-foot single-sheathed box cars. Steam Shack. Swain. 6/94.
• CN 40' box cars. Kitbash. C&BT/Intermountain/McKean. Swain. 12/92, 3/93.
• CNJ 40-foot single-sheathed box cars. Accurail/Tichy. Roseman, 2/03.
• CNJ box cars. Red Caboose/Walthers. Roseman. 11/02.
• DT&I X29 box car clones. Red Caboose/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 6/98, 11, 12/01.
• GN 12-panel box cars. Intermountain. Buck. 10/98.
• GTW 1-1/2-door single-sheathed 40-foot box car. Accurail. Hendrickson. 4/93.
• ITC 1944 AAR box cars. Kitbash. C&BT. Hawkins. 2/91.
• LS&I PS-1 box cars. Accurail. Switzer. 9/03.
• Mather box car. Proto 2000. Hendrickson, 8/03
• M&StL 6-foot door car kitbash. Intermountain. Freeman. 1/02.
• MILW 40' roof-hatch box cars. MDC. Rydarowicz. 6/01.
• MILW rib-side box cars. Rib Side Models. Hendrickson. 12/04
• MP AAR box cars. Branchline. Freeman. 2/03.
• NKP X29 box car clones. Red Caboose/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 6/98, 11, 12/01.
• NYC USRA single-sheathed box car. Tichy. Switzer. 6/02.
• Forthcoming Rapido car.
• PRR X26C box cars. Athearn/Sunshine. Lofton/Meacham. 8/92.
• F&C and forthcoming Rapido cars.
• PRR X28 1-1/2-door box cars. Intermountain. Roseman. 8/04.
• PRR X29 box cars. Red Caboose/Sunshine/Walthers. Lofton, 9/93, Hendrickson. 8/97.
• PRR X29B box cars. Front Range. Davis. 3/91.
• PRR X29B box cars. C&BT/Sunshine. Lofton. 1/94.
• PRR X29G box cars. Kitbash. Details West. Bley. 2/91.
• PRR X43 box cars. C&BT. Davis. 9/91.PRR X31 round-roof box cars. Burg. 3/95.
• PRR X37 1937 AAR box car. Athearn. LaRue. 9/90.
• PRR X37B double-door box car kitbash. Athearn/Front Range. LaRue. 11/92.
• PRR X54 box cars. Kitbash. Details West. Bley. 1/91.
• Pullman Standard "PS-0" box cars. Intermountain/Red Caboose. Rydarowicz. 3/01.
• Pullman Standard PS-1 box cars. Accurail/Cannonball/Con-Cor/Intermountain/Kadee/McKean/Model Power/Walthers. 6/89, 3/93, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11/93, 1, 6, 11, 12/94, 5, 6, 7, 12/97.
• SOO PS-1 box car. McKean. Holbrook. 12/90.
• Linde 40' box/tank cars. McKean. Rydarowicz. 7/93.
• T&P box cars. Intermountain. Freeman. 9/01.
• UP B-50-24, -27 box cars. Trix. Hendrickson. 6/03.
• USRA 40-foot double-sheathed box cars. Ertl/Westerfield. Hendrickson 5/98.
• Rapido model
• USRA rebuilt single-sheathed box cars. Tichy. Lofton and Hendrickson. 4, 5, 6/92, 7/93
• W&LE X29 box car clones. Red Caboose/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 6/98, 11, 12/01.
• WAB 1944 AAR box cars. C&BT. Hawkins. 5/91.
• War Emergency single-sheathed box cars. Sunshine. Culotta, 4/03.

50-FOOT BOX CARS

• 1941 AAR 50' box cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 4/98.
• 1941 AAR 50' double-door box cars. Athearn/Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 10/95, 3, 9/96.
• 1944 AAR 50' box cars. Branchline. 8/89, 3, 4, 6, 9/90, 10/92.
• 50' composite box cars. MDC/Westerfield. Burg/Hendrickson. 7, 10, 11/89,
• 50' single-sheathed box cars. MDC/Walthers/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 7/95, 7/96.
• GAEX 50' single-door "DF" box cars. Branchline/C&BT (Kitbash). 3, 4, 9/90, 4/91, 2/92.
• GN 50' single-sheathed box cars. Westerfield. Nehrich. 7/95.
• NP 50' double-door box cars. Kitbash. Details West. Pitzer. 3/00.
• PRR 50' single door box cars. Details West. Davis. 4/91.
• PRR X31B 50' round-roof box cars. Bowser. Davis. 8/91.
• PRR X32, 33 50' double-door box cars. Bowser. Burg. 2/96.
• Pullman Standard 50' "PS-0" box cars. Intermountain/Red Caboose. Rydarowicz. 3/01.
• Pullman Standard 50' PS-1 double-door box cars. Intermountain. Hawkins. 6, 7/95, 1/96.
• Pullman Standard 50' PS-1 single-door box cars. Intermountain. Hawkins. 12/95.

COVERED HOPPERS

• ACF two-bay covered hoppers. Bowser/ECW/Kato. Hawkins/Wider/Long. 4, 8, 10, 12/91.
• ACF two-bay covered hoppers. Bowser/ECW/Kato. Eager. 3, 5/94.
• ACF two-bay covered hoppers. Bowser/ECW/Kato. Hendrickson. 9/97.
• ACF two-bay covered hoppers. Bowser/ECW/Kato. Mende. 3/94.
• ACF two-bay covered hoppers. Kitbash. Con-Cor. Charles. 8/90.
• Intermountain model.
• Airslide covered hoppers. Con-Cor/ECW/Walthers. 12/90, 2/91, 10/92.
• PRR H21D covered hopper. Kitbash. Westerfield. Bossler. 2/04.
• PRR H34 PS-2 covered hopper. Atlas/MDC. Burg. 12/93, 1/94.
• Pullman Standard PS-2 covered hoppers. Atlas/MDC. Gher. 7/90.
• Pullman Standard PS-2 covered hoppers. Atlas/MDC. Hawkins. 4, 6, 9, 11/95.
• Pullman Standard PS-2 covered hoppers. Kadee. Hawkins. 12/03.

FLAT CARS

• AAR 50', 50-ton flat cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 6, 8/99.
• A&WP pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• ACL pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• ATSF pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• B&O 50' piggyback (TOFC) flats and trailers. Kitbash. Athearn. 10/89.
• Bethlehem 75' piggyback (TOFC) flat cars. Walthers. Vaughan. 4/90.
• C&G pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• CSXT pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• GA pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• GM&O pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• GSI Commonwealth 53' flat cars. Walthers. Eager. 12/92.
• Midwest pulpwood flat cars. Holbrook. 10/89, 1, 5/90, 9/91.
• MP pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• NKP 42-foot piggyback flat cars. Kitbash. Athearn. Rydarowicz. 7/98.
• Northeastern pulpwood and wood chip cars. Lancaster. 8/97.
• Pulpwood flat car. Kitbash. Walthers. Schleicher. 4/94.
• PRR F30 piggyback flat cars. Walthers. Rydarowicz. 9/04.
• PRR F30A 40-foot flat cars. Bowser. Hendrickson. 4/99.
• Forthcoming Rapido model.
• RF&P pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.
• SAL 40'/50' pulpwood flat cars. Kitbash. Athearn. Denton. 10/93.
• Tichy 40' flat cars. Hendrickson. 6/93.
• USRA-design 42' flat cars. Red Caboose. Hendrickson. 1/97.
• WofA pulpwood flat cars. Coates. 9/93.

GONDOLAS

• 40' General Service (GS) gondolas. Detail Associates/Red Caboose. Hendrickson. 3/00.
• 50' War Emergency gondolas. Tichy. Hendrickson. 5, 6/02.
• C&O 100-ton gondolas. Kitbash. Athearn. Westerfield. 12/89.
• CN 141000-142749 48-foot gondolas. Westerfield. Swain. 9/96.
• CNW 43' gondolas. Model Power/Tyco. Preussler. 10/03.
• EJ&E 50' gondola. AHM. Nehrich. 10/94.
• Erie-Lackawanna 52-foot gondola. Proto 2000. Sanicky. 9/98.
• Greenville-design 52-foot mill gondolas. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 11/96.
• PRR G-31 54' gondola. Con-Cor. Bley. 12/90.
• PRR Gs gondolas. Bowser. Hendrickson. 4/99.
• USRA 41'6" 50-ton composite gondolas. Intermountain/Proto 1000. Hendrickson. 2/00.
• USRA 46' mill gondolas. Westerfield/Walthers. Hendrickson. 7/02.

HOPPERS

• AAR 50-ton offset twin hoppers. Athearn/Atlas. Hawkins. 3/98.
• Intermountain and Kadee models.
• AAR 70-ton offset-side triple hoppers. Con-Cor/Stewart. Hendrickson. 4, 8/95, 5/96.
• AAR Emergency 50-Ton composite hoppers. Athearn/Proto 2000. Hawkins. 12/00, 4/01.
• ACF three-bay hoppers. MDC/Roundhouse. Hawkins. 12/91, 2/94.
• B&O fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• B&O W-1 hoppers. Kitbash. Bowser. Roseman. 11/00.
• Berwind USRA 55-ton twin hoppers. Accurail/Life-Like/Tichy/Westerfield. 7/89.
• Also MTH, acquired by Scaletrains.
• C&O fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. 4/93.
• C&S USRA 55-ton twin hoppers. Accurail/Life-Like/Tichy/Westerfield. 7/89.
• Also MTH, acquired by Scaletrains.
• CN H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• CNJ/CRP fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• CNJ/CRP fishbelly hoppers. Kitbash. Stewart. Mende. 6/94.
• CR H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• D&H fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• DRGW H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• E-L H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• LV 34' offset-side hoppers. Kitbash. Athearn/Atlas. Roseman. 10/02.
• LV fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• MILW H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• N&W fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• P&LE H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• PC H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• PRR GLa hoppers. Bowser/Westerfield. Burg. 2/02.
• Forthcoming Rapido model.
• PRR H21 hoppers. Bowser. Burg. 5/93.
• PRR H22A hoppers. Bowser. Burg. 5/94.
• PRR H31 hoppers. Athearn. Bley. 7/91.
• PRR H35, 37 hoppers. Stewart. Burg.1/96.
• PRR H39 triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• RDG fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• RDG fishbelly hoppers. Kitbash. Stewart. Mende. 6/94.
• RDG War Emergency hoppers. Kitbash. Roseman. 4/02.
• F&C.
• Roger-Hart 70-ton Convertible Ballast Cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 1/04.
• Roger-Hart Selective ballast. Challenger/Hi-Tech. Hendrickson. 8/01, 3/02.
• Atlas.
• USRA twin hopper. Accurail. Hendrickson. 5/95.
• Also Tichy and MTH, acquired by Scaletrains.
• WM fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Nehrich. 2/92.
• WM fishbelly hoppers. Stewart. Pitzer. 6/94.
• WM H-39 clone triple hoppers. Stewart. Eager. 4/93.
• WM Channel-side two-bay hoppers. Stewart. Hawkins. 5/97.

REEFERS

• ART reefers. Intermountain. Hawkins. 2/01.
• ART steel reefers. Intermountain/Walthers. Rydarowicz. 7/00.
• ART, MDT, PFE combination-door reefers. Intermountain/Walthers. Rydarowicz. 8/00.
• BREX reefers. Accurail. Wagner. 6/99.
• MDC and Red Caboose reefers. Hendrickson. 2, 10/96, 7/97.
• MDT reefers. Kitbash. Intermountain. Rydarwicz. 5/99.
• NP reefers. Intermountain. Hawkins. 9/00.
• PFE R-40-10 reefers. Intermountain. Hawkins. 2/01.
• PFE R-40-23 reefers. Intermountain. Hendrickson. 10/94.
• PFE R-40-23 reefers. Intermountain. Hendrickson. 3/95.
• PFE R-40-23 reefers. Intermountain. Kohlmann. 9/98.
• PFE R-40-25 reefers. Intermountain. Hawkins. 9/00.
• PFE wood reefers. Red Caboose/Tichy/Westerfield. Hendrickson. 4/97.
• SFRD Rr-5 through Rr-11 reefers. Sunshine. Hendrickson. 1/92.
• SFRD Rr-19 through Rr-32 reefers. C&BT. Hendrickson.11/94.
• SFRD Rr-19 through Rr-32 reefers. Upgrade. C&BT. Hendrickson. 11/94.
• SFRD Rr-19 through Rr-32 reefers. Intermountain. Hendrickson. 12/96.
• Swift reefers. MDC/Sunshine/Tichy. Lofton, 2/93.
• URTX reefers. Branchline Trains. Hawkins 5/00.
• URTX reefers. Kitbash. Mantua/Red Caboose. Rydarowicz. 9/01.
• URTX reefers. Tichy/Westerfield. Westerfield. 6/89, 7/92.

STOCK CARS

• ATSF sk-Q through Sk-U stock cars. Intermountain. Hendrickson. 8/04
• CGW stock car. Proto 2000. Probst. 5/01.
• Mather double-deck stock cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 5/97.
• Mather single-deck stock cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 2/97.
• NP stock cars. Central Valley Model Works. Hendrickson. 9/91.
• Swift stock cars. Lofton. 2/93.

TANK CARS

• 6,000-gallon insulated high-pressure tank cars. Trix. Hendrickson. 9/04.
• ACF ICC-103W 10,000-gallon welded tank cars. Red Caboose. Hendrickson. 4/96.
• AFC Type 21 8,000 gallon tank cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 2/98.
• ACF Type 21 10,000 gallon tank cars. Proto 2000. Hendrickson. 1/00.
• ACF Type 27 8,000-gallon tank cars. Intermountain. Hendrickson. 10/97.
• ACF Type 27 10,000-gallon tank cars. Intermountain. Hendrickson/ 7/97.
• GATC 10,000 and 12,500-gallon tank cars. Kitbash. Athearn. Hendrickson. 8/96.
• ICC 105, 11,000 gallon tank cars. Atlas. Hendrickson. 7/03.
• For more accurate Kadee model see Ed Hawkins clinic and roster.
• Linde 40-foot box/tank cars. McKean. Ryczkowski. 7/93.
• LPG 40-foot tank cars. Athearn. 9/89.
• SOO Pickle tank car. Scratchbuiling. Leider. 2/02.
• Skelgas LP tank car. Kitbash. Athearn. Hodina. 7/89.
• Tichy HO scale small-dome tank car. Hendrickson. 10/90, 4/91.

DETAILS

• Prototype brake wheels c1930-1960. Hawkins. 9/96.
• HO scale freight trucks. Hendrickson.2, 4/90, 12/93, 2/95.
• Richard also published a much more current document online available here.

PAINTING

• Authentic railroad color chips. Box car red. Floquil/SMP/Scalecoat. Hawkins/Wider/Long. 8/89, 6/90
• B&O box car colors. Hawkins/Wider/Long. 8/89.
• PRR Freight car red. LaRue/Gutowski/McGuire/PRRT&HS. 11/90.
• Repack data markings. Switzer. 9/90.
• Reweigh, station, weight and service stencils, placards and truck details. Hendrickson.6/97.
• Weathering freight cars to match the steam era. Hendrickson. 12/95.
• Weathering Kadee box cars. Switzer. 8/01.
• Weathering tank cars. Schleicher. 5/97.

What else am I working on? Lots of small projects

Most of my recent modeling hasn't been that post-worthy. Gluing down track, etc., and I've had a lot more research/computer time recently (thus all the posts on commodities), but I wanted to keep up with the modeling posts too. 

I did spend a couple of evenings de-flashing 7 resin hopper kits worth of parts. The top box is 3 kits, and each of the other boxes two additional kits, each box being a different prototype.

I have 6 more to go. I'm kind of making a habit of this when I have some spare time that's not long enough for another project. I have already cleaned the flash off of the hopper bodies, and also drilled holes. So I'll be ready to do a push to finish assembling them once I've gathered the prototype material and made sure I have trucks for them. 

I also added a couple more short staging tracks behind the Agent's desk where I realized I had some space (and a couple of spare turnouts):

These will be used for parking locomotives not used in a given session. I'd like to have enough tracks to store all of the locomotives on the layout to minimize handling. I will probably install switches to cut power to the tracks when not used.

I also noticed that the couplers sat a little high on the RS-2s. So I used a red Kadee washer to lower them.

This required filing down a small amount of the pointed portion of the steam line doors.

I completed relaying the mainline and Track No. 5 around the back corner where I had taken them up for some work. I wanted the tracks closer together along the straight section to provide more room for the eventual Union Manufacturing building.

The front track (eastbound main) proved a bit more problematic to get right, and once I did I decided not to try to adjust the curvature of the other tracks to be closer here. It will be pretty well hidden by buildings anyway and I can work with it scenically. The key is that it must operate properly.

I had considered installing a track for Skinner Chuck Co. on the inside of this curve (the only major industry missing), but it really just won't fit. This entire section should be on a broad curve going the other direction, but the basement wall got in the way...

The light blue masonite has two new industries, North & Judd storage, and P&F Corbin coal track, so I'm glad I was able to add those. The rest of the work on Track No. 5 will wait, because I want to use the forthcoming Fast Tracks Diamond Line crossing once they are available. They look amazing. I'm also considering hand laying the turnout at the end of Track No. 5, which is currently a curved Walthers turnout. 

The rest of the work has been continuing to rearrange the basement and find homes for everything, final tweaks on trackwork and dropping feeders. I'll spend a day (hopefully with Chris' help) soldering them all to the rail, since that's easier with two people for a lot of these locations. I'm really not that far from having a fully operational layout again, and that's a priority.

What else am I working on? Hoppers and Boxcars

With at least 7 dealers selling anthracite coal, and so many large industries receiving bituminous, it should come as no surprise that I'll need a lot of hoppers. So I have a bunch in progress. These are mostly MTH USRA hoppers, a few Atlas, along with F&C and Westerfield resin kits. I'm sure more will be added as well.

Just above it is a shelf primarily consisting of in-progress single sheathed box cars from F&C, Westerfield, Speedwitch and others. There are several double sheathed and even a steel car mixed in.

Hoppers

So I've been taking Chris' advice and working on the layout in little bits whenever I can squeeze in a few moments. Sometimes that's 15 minutes, or even an hour or two, in the basement. Other times it's working on models upstairs while Laura watches TV. In many cases I'm working on something else, but when working with computers there's often a lot of waiting. So part of what I've been doing (since I'm already at the computer) is to go through my notes, research, etc. and piece together some plans for the layout.

As you know, last year I left off as Chris and I were starting a hopper project. Part of the process for me (for any type of freight car really) is to take a look at what's available and compare that to ORER and roster information. So here's what I've put together so far for hoppers, or at least the primary hopper fleet I'm looking to build.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority are available in accurate and quality models. A group (mainly the PRR ones), will require upgrading older models and won't be quite up to today's standards but they will be more than just 'good enough.' If I feel like it, most of them are available as resin kits from Westerfield.

I am already building a number of resin hoppers from F&C. These are the new one-piece bodies and they are fun to build, if a bit more time-consuming than a styrene kit. If the Westerfield ones are released in one-piece body versions then it's likely that I'd opt for those over the Bowser kits.

I will (and already do) have other hopper models, mostly of the same prototypes from different roads. We've seen plenty of photos with hoppers from all sorts of roads on the NH and they will appear in smaller quantities during operating sessions.

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In general, hoppers didn't travel as far from home roads as box cars, flat cars, and gondolas. The primary lading was coal, and the farther it traveled the more it cost. In addition, some 60% of Connecticut's coal came via ship and not rail.

Anthracite Coal

Anthracite was commonly used for home heating because it was cleaner and more efficient. Thus the many online coal dealers would carry anthracite, often in several different sizes. Anthracite was mined in northeastern Pennsylvania on only a handful of roads: CNJ, D&H, DL&W, ERIE, L&HR, LNE, LV, O&W, PRR and RDG.

The best I can tell, the majority (if not all) of the anthracite traffic arrived via rail. The CNJ, ERIE, LNE, LV, O&W, and PRR had direct interchanges with the NH. Those roads that didn't (D&H, DL&W and RDG) had connections directly through one of those carriers.

It was not uncommon for a coal dealer to advertise a specific brand of coal. For example, in New Britain, Stanley Svea & Co apparently advertised and sold Old Company's Lehigh Coal. This was a company that was owned by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, who also owned the LNE to service their interests. In addition to the Lansford and Tamaqua colleries serviced by the LNE, they also had locations served by D&H, DL&W, ERIE, and RDG. So it is most likely that hoppers to Stanley Svea will be from one of these roads.

Bituminous Coal

A huge number of roads serviced soft coal mines throughout the eastern US. Some 60% of CT coal arrived via water routes, rather than rail. I suspect the majority (if not all) of this was bituminous coal from the Baltimore area, and I'm also guessing that a large amount of this coal was destined for NHRR use, along with large industries on the CT coastline. The remainder would have most likely been delivered to industries and other engine facilities along the line in NH hoppers or gondolas.

The remainder of bituminous coal would have come via rail by the same routes as anthracite. In addition to the anthracite roads, photographic evidence shows large numbers of B&O and NYC hoppers on the NH. 

Other large coal roads (C&O, N&W, etc. probably contribute some rail traffic, but in most cases I think coal from mines on these roads came via water routes instead. There are a number of smaller roads (P&WV, WM, etc.), or coal lessees (Berwind and Westmoreland come to mind) that would be appropriate for an occasional load as well. I already own some cars from these roads, and will undoubtedly add more. Remember that I differentiate between my roster of cars owned, and the mix of cars on the layout during a given operating session. I'd like the mix to be different each session rather than every car being on the layout at all times.

So here's my primary list of hoppers - somewhere right around 100 cars:

B&O (16-19)

(3) N12g (F&C)

(2) USRA Hoppers (MTH)

(3-6) AAR Standard Twin Hoppers (Accurail)

(1) Composite War Emergency Hoppers (P2k)

(2) AAR Triple Hopper (Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(2) AAR Quad Hoppers (BLI)

(1) 9-panel Hopper (F&C)

(1) ex-N&W Triple Hopper (BLI)

CNJ (4)

(1) 1905 Common Design (GLa with minor differences)(Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(1) USRA Hopper (MTH)

(1) 9-panel Hopper (F&C)

(1) Welded Fishbelly Hopper (Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

CRP (2)

(1) 9-panel Hopper (F&C)

(1) AAR Standard 50-ton Hopper (Kadee with wine locks undec)

D&H (6-7)

(1-2) Seley Composite Hopper (Old & Weary Car Shops or oop F&C kit) 2-, 3-, and 4-bay versions

(1) USRA Hopper (MTH)

(1) USRA Panel Side Hopper (Tichy)

(2) Fishbelly Hoppers (Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(1) AAR Standard 50-ton Hoppers (built 1951/2)(Kadee)

DL&W (2-3)

(1-2) SSC Hoppers (Westerfield)

(1) USRA Hopper (MTH)

ERIE (4-7)

(0-1) Horizontal Rib Hopper (F&C)

(3) AAR Standard Offset Hopper (Intermountain)

(1-2) AAR Standard 70-ton Quad Hopper (BLI)

L&HR (0)

L&HR had a roster of 102 cars in 1947, 64 of which are hoppers. But there is a notation that they are in special service, and thus highly unlikely that they'd appear in New Britain. Now if I was modeling Maybrook...

LNE (3)

(3) AAR Standard Offset Twin Hopper (upgraded Atlas)

LV (5)

(1) 1905 Common Design (GLa with minor differences)(Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(1) Fishbelly Hopper (Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(2) PSC Hoppers (Westerfield)

(1) Offset Side Exterior Post Hopper (Atlas Kitbash)

(1) War Emergency Twin Hopper (P2k)

NH (6)

(4) USRA Hopper (MTH)

(2) Pullman-Standard Hopper (Forthcoming F&C?)

NYC  (16)

(6) USRA Hopper (MTH)

(3) USRA Panel Side Hopper (Tichy)

(4) AAR Standard 55-ton Offset Hopper (Kadee)

(2) USRA Design Triple Hopper (Westerfield)

(1) AAR Standard 70-ton Triple Hopper (Accurail, Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

O&W (1)

(1) GLa (Bowser/Old & Weary Car Shops custom run, Westerfield)

P&LE (2)

(1) USRA Hopper (MTH)

(1) USRA Panel Side Hopper (Tichy)

(1) AAR Standard 70-ton Triple Hopper (Accurail, Bowser)

PRR (21)

(4) GL/GLc/Glca (12,000 cars) (F&C, Westerfield)

(6) Gla/GLg (25,000 cars) (Bowser, Westerfield)

(6) H21 (40,000 cars) (Bowser, Westerfield)

(2) H22 (4,500 cars) (Bowser)

(2) H25 (5,300 cars) (F&C, Bowser)

(1) H31 (1,212 cars) (Accurail 2700 series)

RDG (6-7)

(2) HTf - Channel Side Hopper (F&C 1019, 1020)

(1) HTj - USRA Hopper (MTH)

(2-3) HTo/p/r - Fishbelly Hopper (Bowser/Ex-Stewart)

(1) HTs - Composite War Emergency Hopper (F&C 6750)

It's interesting to note that it doesn't appear that an actual model of the 1905 Common Design has been released. I understand why, since the primary difference between the GLa and the Common Design is the cross-ridge angle (45 degrees instead of 30 degrees). And while the 1905 Common Design was purchased in large quantities and many different roads, the GLa remained in larger quantities on the PRR in the post-war era. I plan on just moving the rivet line on the exterior of the car if using the Bowser model, if at all. But, the new F&C N-12g is one variation of the 1905 Common Design. So if I can find decals, I may use that for the CNJ and LV cars as well.

More about hoppers

So in the course of getting the LNE hopper project going, I've been doing some research on hoppers in general. I won't pretend to be an expert on hoppers, and there has been a lot published online and in various magazines and books, although I would start with Bob Karig's "Coal Cars: The First 300 Years", John Teichmoeller's "Pennsylvania Railroad Steel Open Hopper Cars", and the various Railway Prototype Cyclopedias, particularly Volume 25. Of course, the RPI Railroad Heritage website should be a primary source for any freight car modeling as well.

I haven't looked into books on the hopper fleets of the B&O or NYC which were both substantial and they would be helpful. But I've been able to find enough online information for now relating to them. The B&O is a particular challenge because there aren't a lot of accurate models for their hoppers. At least not yet.

Based on information provided in several resources, I believe that while hoppers for C&O, N&W and other more southerly roads would have travelled occasionally on the New Haven, I suspect they were in far fewer numbers than the roads I'll cover here. This was largely because coal from these fields came to CT primarily by water. And while NH hoppers have been photographed offline, I suspect a large number of them were used to ship coal from waterborne loads to their final destinations on the NH.

As a starting point, I've been looking at existing models that are available either only in (resin) kit form or simple projects like the LNE one which is primarily upgrading a shake-the-box style model. Initially this is covering twin hoppers (HM), but I'm already looking into triple and quad hopper (HT) projects.

More extensive kitbashing projects will wait. I have already purchased RTR cars that are appropriate and meeting my modeling standards (BLI, Intermountain, Kadee, etc.).

As for the roads that I think are most important for my (and Chris and Pete's) layout are coal hauling roads with direct NH connections:

CNJ/CRP
ERIE
LNE
LV
NYC
O&W
PRR

Secondary sources are the other large roads that have service connections (based on published schedules), photos, and anthracite roads:
B&O
D&H
DL&W
RDG

Several roads have been bumped up in priority due to the identification of specific brands of coal handled by local New Britain industries:
Stanley Svea - Old Company's Lehigh (D&H, DL&W, LNE)
Household Fuel - Glen Alden Coal Co (CNJ, DL&W, RDG)

So then there's the question of how many of any given hopper I need. For box cars I settled on 1 car per 1,000 rostered for a foreign road car. But then what about cars like the PRR X29 or NYC USRA Design steel box car, each of which rostered over 25,000? I don't really need 25 of each do I?

Probably not. So I think a reasonable goal is around 10 of each. But hoppers aren't as free roaming as box cars. However, I also think that for a bulk commodity it's common to see a string of 2-3 cars, even if it's a road with a small roster. That doesn't mean they'll all be the same prototype.

So I know I'll do at least two cars for each of the target roads, but typically more. I've settled on 1 car for each 500 rostered to try to get the mix right for each road that has multiple prototypes available. But I think 3 to 4 of a given prototype will probably be sufficient, with more for particularly large rosters (PRR, basically). I may make exceptions for roads that serve mines that I know are selling to New Britain industries.

For retail industries I haven't determined a specific brand of coal (Shurberg & Sons,) I'll focus on anthracite roads, and the large industries (Stanley, Russell & Erwin, etc.) will receive bituminous, often in triple and quad hoppers, from B&O, NYC, PRR, etc.

 As noted, the first project we're starting is the LNE AAR Standard cars.

Fishbelly Hoppers
Next will probably be cars based on the Bowser (ex-Stewart) fishbelly hoppers, and as long as we can find the proper decorated cars, these won't require decals.
CNJ 67000-67999 (1)
CRP 67000-67999 (1)
D&H 4701-6100 (2-4)
LV 25000-25499, 25500-25939 (2)
RDG 65000-65999, 67000-67338, 80000-80999 (4-6), plus 1-2 of the F&C War Emergency variation (66000-66999)

USRA and USRA Clone Hoppers
I've got Accurail, Tichy and MTH USRA hoppers, and I've settled on making some modifications (modernizing) the MTH model, primarily upgrading to AB brakes. These will definitely need painting and lettering.
B&O (2-4)
CNJ (1)
CRP (1)
D&H (1, plus one Tichy panel side rebuild)
DL&W (2)
NH (2-4)
NYC (4, plus two Tichy panel side rebuilds)
RDG (2-4)

GL hoppers (Westerfield and/or F&C) - mostly GLca class, and the majority (if not all) will be the excellent F&C one piece body kit.
PRR (5-10)

GLA and 1905 "Common Design" (Westerfield and/or Bowser)
Note: while individual roads had some specific variations, the main difference was apparently the angle of the center slope sheets. PRR had a 30 degree angle, and most others a 45 degree angle. I'm not sure if I'll be able to modify the interior, but the Bowser car is the PRR 30 degree angle so it may be possible (since it's less than 45 degrees). Otherwise, along with the detail upgrades the rivet line in the middle of the car will be modified.

Chris has a photo of a PRR H21 at Wethersfield coal, and found that Bowser makes a model (yay!) but it has molded on parts (boo!). I pointed out that they had over 25,000 H21's c1947 and that he had a choice - build a half-dozen or more Westerfield kits, or start shaving Bowser cars. He's ready to shave. The same thing applies for the PRR GLA class.

PRR (5-10)
CNJ/CRP (1-2)
LV (4-6)

Berwind-White Mini Project
A few years ago Laura and I went to Newport, RI and one of the mansions we visited was The Elms, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind. So at the very least I'm sure that Berwind coal hoppers would be seen on the New Haven on the Shoreline servicing their home. In addition, there are models available that covers the entire Berwind roster in 1947. So that's kind of fun. One of those kits, now available from F&C, was originally manufactured by Funaro for Yankee Clipper Models, which were produced by Bill Dulmaine, the current President of NHRHTA and he and Cosette are responsible for publishing the Shoreliner.

Mount Vernon Shops makes a set of decals that letters 4 GLca, 6 GLa, and 2 BW-1 hoppers so that will give us enough for the group to split.
GLa (Bowser) 1501-1900, 3351-4980
GLca (F&C) 2001-3000, 4981-5000
BW-1 (F&C) 5001-5050, 5051-5160

Resin Kits
In addition to the GLca and BW-1 hoppers, I'll need several of the F&C CNJ/CRP 9-panel hoppers (the model that started this study, actually), and RDG Channel Side hoppers, also from F&C.

That will get me (us) started, and will provide a solid foundation for the hoppers that I think would represent a proper mix, recognizing that there will be too few B&O and probably DL&W hoppers, among others. Beyond these, I don't have a problem with an occasional visit from other hoppers that would be less common. But we've now found three photos with C&I hoppers on the New Haven so it's clear that there are always interesting cars to include.

LNE #14103-13600 Hopper Correction

Thanks to Ed Hawkins I have an update on the LNE hoppers. The photo in Bob Karig's book that looked like a unique prototype was taken at a museum. So it appears that the road number used in the restoration was incorrect, and that this class of cars was similar to the earlier cars in their detail.

I may still pick up an Accurail kit to see what they look like, though, and it could be used for a B&O car.

Randy

LNE AAR Standard 50-ton hoppers

I've learned that Stanley Svea Grain & Coal sold "Old Company's Lehigh" coal.

If the logo looks familiar, it should. Old Company's Lehigh coal was produced by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. In 1904 Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co acquired a majority of stock of the Lehigh New England Railroad.

The Company had several collieries mining anthracite. Two of the ones I've been able to verify that had breakers (Lansford and Tamaqua, PA) were both served by the LNE. They had other breakers served by the D&H, DL&W, ERIE, and RDG.

Of the roads I've verified that serve Old Company's Lehigh, the DL&W will be the toughest to model. D&H, ERIE and RDG won't be too difficult. But Chris and I have decided to start a project to fill some holes in our hopper fleets with LNE hoppers. And since we're getting started on this we figured we'd check with the other Thursday night guys to see if they'd like to build a few as well. As it turns out, models are also available in N-scale (for Dick) and S-scale (for Pieter), so we can all add a few cars to our rosters.

How easy/difficult will it be? Well, the first place to start is the ORER for 1947. Out of a roster of about 3,000 freight cars, almost half are hoppers. Of those, 86% are AAR Standard 50 ton hoppers, or 1,250 cars.

That's great news, or so you'd think, because the Kadee hopper is an AAR Standard 50 ton twin hopper. But, consulting the information and rosters in Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Vol 25, we find that the LNE cars are two different types. All except the last 300 of those are of an early design with sloped side sills at the end, with a straight side sill between the bolsters, and pressed steel channel end posts. The remaining 300 cars have straight side sills, with a fishbelly side sill between the bolsters, and z-bar end braces. 

The Kadee car is closest to those 300 cars, with the correct side details, but the end posts are spaced wider apart and are composed of steel angle to the top of the ends, instead of pressed steel channels attached at the bottom of the hopper end. 

The Intermountain car, marketed as 'Alternate' AAR Standard cars (identified in RP Cyc as AMC Standard Design cars) don't match either. So the two best available models won't work.

Accurail, Athearn, Atlas and Walthers all make 'offset side' 2 bay hoppers that are also based on AAR Standard cars. Unfortunately these have molded on detail parts. The Accurail one has the finest detailing, but is apparently a match of a B&O car with different details. The Athearn and Atlas cars are better detailed than Walthers, and fortunately the Atlas car is nearly an exact match. 

So the Atlas car looks like a good starting point. Even with some extra work it won't measure up to the current state-of-the-art Kadee or Intermountain, but we should be able to turn it into a very good model that's not just a stand-in.

They are available undecorated (Atlas #18870 in the Trainman line). There is a second Atlas offset side hopper in the regular line (Atlas #1850) but it has a different bracing pattern along the top of the sides, which seems odd to me (particularly because I can't find a prototype that it matches).

Anyway, here's what we're modeling:

LNE AAR Standard 50 ton twin hopper

13001-13250 blt 11-36

13251-13350 blt 5-39 (pictured)

14001-14300 blt 4-41

14301-14600 blt 2-42 (see below) (pictured - I love the crooked '3')

 

The paint scheme will be similar to the second picture, without the billboard 'LNE' using Highball Graphics decals. Each set covers 3 cars, and a set is available for N-scale as well.

Most of the cars used coil elliptical trucks available from Tahoe Model Works

All had Ajax handbrakes, AB Brakes, plate steel brake steps, and Wine door locking mechanisms. 

More information can be found in the excellent Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Vol 25 (pictures on pg 54-5), Vol 2 (picture on pg 87 - a better version of 14382 above), and Bob Karig's "Coal Cars: The First Three Hundred Years" on pg 307, including an interior shot.

A third variation?

Well what do you know? Looking closer at the overhead shot of #14518 in Bob's book, which also shows the end, it is of a different design. It has the sloped side sills as with the earlier cars. But it has the z-bar end posts like the later cars. It's stenciled with a build date of March, 1941, which is earlier than listed on the roster by about a year. It appears that the Accurail car is a close match to this prototype, which will allow us to model a subtle variation with little additional effort since most of the modifications will be the same as the Atlas model. This kit has some extra details lacking from the Atlas (like slope sheet bracing) that will help with the rest of the project as well.

The question is, how early was this change made? The photo of #13283 (blt 5-39) in RP Cyc Vol 25, pg 54 clearly shows the earlier end, as does #14299 (blt 4-41) on the next page. So it would appear the change was made for the #14301-14600 series, although that doesn't necessarily mean it was for the entire group.

In any event, I think this will be a fun project, and I'm hoping that by doing it as a group we'll (I'll) actually get them completed and in a relatively quickly.

Well, I'll post the question on the Steam Era Freight Car Group. In the meantime, it's time to pick up some models, decals, and parts.