I realize all that. I was responding to the OP’s comment that he “only room for 2 additional gondolas in the fleet due to a limited amount and length of the staging tracks.” Those 2 gons are

A few thoughts to add to Mal's. Cement packaging long relied on barrels and cloth bags. I credit Hercules Cement with the first rail shipments in covered hoppers, in 1929. Tony Thompson has a photo

Brian, Although what you say is correct - there are some things you can do to 'mix it up' that lessen how many off layout cars you need/need to swap in and out ... Don't let your crews always take

Ah! That's where your ops strategy comes in. I operate on layouts using 4 place bills and yes you learn what goes where. IF the cars are 'noticeable' meaning bright colors or unusual design. My gon's,

Bob also sells Tichy parts, in case you need supplies. Eric Hansmann Murfreesboro, TN

Hello Freight Car Aficionados! Yesterday I received a nice package of photos from Bob Liljestrand. Speaking with him on the phone, I learned that he is more than willing to offer his services if you

Ah! That's where your ops strategy comes in. I operate on layouts using 4 place bills and yes you learn what goes where. IF the cars are 'noticeable' meaning bright colors or unusual design. My gon's,

Was there an expectation that empty barrels would be returned? Regards Paul Woods ---- On Thu, 19 Mar 2020 02:48:13 +1300 Malcolm H. Houck via Groups.Io <Indian640@...> wrote ----

Who models their fleet based on staging? (Other than maybe Clark P) you should have some off-layout storage also or you’re gonna get bored with the same cars and your operators will begin to know

Guy, Thanks for the answers. I’m glad to have learned something new today. Regards, -Jeff

 Jeff wrote: “I see a series of at least 5 rings where the car side meets the roof. What are they?” Lifting rings to which chain blocks were attached for lifting automobiles or light trucks

Thank you John for the info and attachment. This will help me narrow down my choices as I have only room for 2 additional gondolas in the fleet due to a limited amount and length of the staging

Hi Jeff, I'm going to offer some hunches, and I'll probably be corrected in due course! The boxcar interior first. When I was at the NPTCo in the early 1960s, that car would have been classified by

Thank you Bill! -- Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts

In the first photo (link reproduced here:https://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/photos/id/100971/rec/1247 ), I see a series of at least 5 rings where the car side meets the roof. What are

This suggests a rail/marine scene, as in the 19th and early 20th centuries China came to North America in the holds of ships, packed just like that. Visit the 1886 steel sailing ship Balclutha[0] at

Fran, The attached spreadsheet is an excerpt from a much larger spreadsheet compiled by the late Tim Gilbert of through trains between Potomac Yard and Monroe Virginia. Most of the gons were in

Thanks for all the replies. As info, I am doing this same project with the flat cars on my layout so I will use the results here with them also. Clyde - great idea looking at photos of trains.

Tim, I don’t think it has much affect. Depending on the size of the drums, they fit nicely on a pallet, which was easier to handle. Four 55 gallon steel drums fit nicely onto a 48 inch

I do not have access to the file in the SRHA archives right now but the Southern Railway file on the construction of Fontana Dam in Western NC describes the railroad carried many thousands (20+?) of