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  2. Diatomite, talc and cement.. in boxcars or covered hoppers?

Re: Diatomite, talc and cement.. in boxcars or covered hoppers?

Tim O'Connor
 

I think talc was still shipped predominantly in box cars in
the 1950's. (For that matter so was cement.) Talc and portland
cement have very different densities so it seems unlikely a covered
hopper would be suited for both of those commodities. Nowadays talc
cars are almost twice as large as cement cars even thought they have
the same GRL.

Diatomite? You mean diatomaceous earth?

Tim O'Connor

I was looking for a new STMFC project last night, when I happened upon an excellent HO Intermountain ACF covered hopper car kit that I'd squirreled away. Just a nice model, though one has to follow the instructions Very Carefully. Very Carefully!

In 1956, I'm assuming that the most common usage of these cars would have been for bulk cement. But how about bulk loading diatomite or talc as well? Could a car be loaded with either cement, talc, or diatomite without needing to be cleaned extensively between loads? And can anyone reference an on-line photo of a weathered talc or diatomite-service covered hopper?

Thanks in advance,

Steve Lucas.
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