Bruce Smith replied:

On Aug 4, 2008, at 11:16 AM, joel norman asked:

GENTLEMAN:
NEED SOME MODELING DATA:1950-1956 NORTHEAST USA(PENNA-NY)Coal
for
the steel mills of Buffalo out of coal county(WvA/Va/Ohio/Ky)would
have
moved in whose coal cars other then PRR?and who offers these cars
in HO?
Im sorry to the owner of the sight if this isnt the right group for
the
question,please if let me know and I will direct it to the proper
sight.Not looking for traffic data as much as which railroad hopper

to

model within the era Ive listed(51-56)...

Joel,

It might be easier to list the ones you would not be likely to see...
For example, western roads like UP, AT&SF, CB&Q would be unlikely. PA
roads like P&LE would be fairly common. I also see a fair number of
B&O and Reading hoppers, but very few N&W and C&O. The "Bob Charles"
collection had a CofG hopper in Harrisburg, along with at least 15
other foreign roads. There are also some great yard shots in books by
Don Ball and others - look and see what it there.

As for models, the archives of this list, plus a membership to the
RPI website (at $5/month) are invaluable tools to determine
appropriate models. When focusing on particular roads, you can find
fleet type articles, such as Ben Hom's series on B&O hoppers in the
B&O Modeler.

But the traffic data determines how the coal got to Buffalo. The steel
mill requires a certain type of coal, a limited number of mines may be
able to provide it and that determines originating railroads for that
coal. Traffic patterns and interchange locations determine the usual
route for the coal to travel from the mine to the mill.

For modeling PRR hoppers don't forget "PennsylvaniaRailroad Steel Open
Hopper Cars" by John Teichmoeller. It is out-of-print, but it is still
available from used book dealers.

Bob Witt