Eric; Spot on. I was unable to find the correspondence on the GS cars that went into coke service, but it is clear they did so. They were such early cars, they may have pre-dated the H22

Elden, Some customers may not have needed the cubic capacity that an H22 could deliver. IIRC from a certain published source, GSD gondolas had some modifications for coke, too. Eric

Thanks, Jack! I have not seen the explanation on why PRR chose that flooring in doorways only, for their X53 class meant for “sensitive” coil on pallets, but it may have been from their

Thanks for providing that, Bruce! I am looking for the specifics on the PRR’s coke cars, and will update when I find info. I appreciate everyone’s input! Elden Gatwood From:

Good point, CJ! I have seen cars with rods across the width of the car, and also those that had angles welded over the top chord to stiffen the car. Elden Gatwood From:

Thanks for sharing that, Bill! Very similar to PRR coke cars of that era. It appears that most (if not all) coke cars of this type did have the original doors removed as here:

Here is a screen shot I snagged off a Herron Rail video of an empty Monon coke car headed back to Indy on an NYC freight out of Bellefontaine, OH in 1955. Bill Darnaby

Thanks, Mont! That sounds like very similar experiences from those I’ve heard of RRs around my hometown, where they generated a LOT of coke. Elden Gatwood From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io

Bill - You are correct. Hastings was the "epicenter" of the Florida potato industry. Hastings was served by the FEC, but the ACL, SAL, and SOU all had seasonal salesmen assigned in Hastings to try

Boy, that machine would be great for my leaves...lol... James Cummings.

what would be interesting is the unloading of these cars, with the door on the inside, especially with no door tracks just thinking out loud ;-)

That would jive with the photos I've seen and what Bruce described. These cars appeared to serve the smaller foundries once spread all across the midwest. Obviously these couldn't feed the appetite of

Speaking of potatoes, another important area for growing and harvesting potatoes is Long Island and thus the reason the Long Island RR had a contract with FGE to supply refrigerator cars, and their

The MONON hauled coke from the Indianapolis Gas and Coke utility to destinations all over the midwest. In our era composite stone gons had boxcar bodies dropped onto them. Roofs were removed for

Chad That was the first thing I noticed when I looked at the photo. Just last night I was looking at the three I have in different stages of construction. Chet French Dixon, IL

Dave, Somebody else attached the photo earlier in the thread. I no long have the early messages on my computer. Yours Aye, Garth Groff 🦆

This car has wood flooring with an overlay of perforated steel floor protection plates. I don't know what brand of plates these are. The namesake Doweloc car flooring was 12" wide laminated hardwood

How about any other kind of produce? Andy Jackson Santa Fe Springs CA

The C&O also had similar cars with the reinforcing rods.

Bob: Did you attache the wrong photo to this message? I am seeing PE 10067 (not 2417), and it's pretty clearly a 1940s pic (not 1918). ???? -- Dave Parker Swall Meadows, CA