Shawn wrote:

I hate to ask a neophyte question, but how far would
these hoppers have traveled in interchange? I've just
assumed, judging by who owned these cars, that they
were in coal service, and therefore captive on home
rails.

At the risk of starting a fire where none is needed ;^) I'm not sure that
your last statement is all that accurate...after all, if N&W hoppers made
it as far as SHerman Hill...<duck>

Really, although I would expect a higher percentage on "home rails" I would
not term these cars "captive". I would expect to see C&O and B&O cars on
the PRR for example, and yes, there are plenty of photos of N&W cars on the
PRR (and not just through trains of hoppers). However, one thing to
consider is that these cars probably do not represent major classes for
most of these roads and therefore should be outnumbered by memebers of the
major classes by a significant margin.

Happy Rails
Bruce

Bruce F. Smith V.M.D., Ph.D.
Scott-Ritchey Research Center
334-844-5587, 334-844-5850 (fax)
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin
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