I’ve been outta the train loop for many years. I just got back in about 2 1/2 or 3 years ago. I was watching old chessie & family lines system videos on youtbe…basically all early csx videos and found one that had a chessie gp30 leading a coal train. The coal train had bethgons and various other hoppers. I didn’t know those were around in '92.
conrail had them too. I didn’t realize how early.
Coalporters
Conrail rostered a large fleet of coalporter cars. Hollidaysburg Car shops rebuilt old triple hoppers into the G52H, G52L and G52R class starting in 1991. In 1995, Conrail began assembling and painting the G52X Cromweld class out of kits supplied by Johnstown-America. Conrail also acquired several hundred cars from SFIX (System Fuels, Inc.) which were assigned to the G52W class.
http://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/files/images/CR%20508269%20G52W%20resize.thumbnail.jpg
http://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/ConrailEquipment/FreightCars
Got more stuff for you Cousin Matt …when you are ready …
Yea, I remember reading about the “new” rotary coupler that they were using on those type of cars, back when I subscribed to Model Railroad Craftsman. That was back in the late 1980’s when I subscribed to that magazine. So those cars were around back then, at least in prototype form.
When I was Stationed at Kelly AFB, San Antonio, Texas, from 78-82, the San Antonio Power plant had it’s own fleet of thrall hoppers that they used to haul coal into the plant… The Thrall Coal cars were basically painted black, with white lettering and had a red end and side section… The red end and section basically told where the rotary coupler was located… At the power plant, was a rotary dumper… Trains were pulled with BN power… Car/company identifiers were SATX… Back in those days, I called and asked for permission to go on site and railfan and take photo’s, which was graciously allowed… Inside the power plant property was a full car repair facility to repair the thrall cars/trucks, etc…
That’s cool. Thanks for the info guys!! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)I had no idea. I really thought it was a more 2000 year era “thing”.
Rotary dumpers go back even farther then the high side gondolas (Bethgons). But way back, they didn’t have rotary couplers, so each car had to run through the rotary dumper uncoupled.
In 1962 we (Mom, sis and I) took a German freighter from Norfolk Va. to Europe. We carried coal. We boarded at the coaling dock.
I was fascinated watching the coaling operation, the whole car was rotated to dump, then nudged off by the next car, The empty raced down a steep track and then up a short incline past a spring switch that moved over before the car came back down that incline and was sent back to the yard.
The cars were pushed up to the dumper by a ‘mule’, a device that came up between the rails to push the car up.
I was 12 and had full run of the ship, but stayed out of the engine room, on request.
John
Thanks for the info David and John. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)