A couple observations from the Chicago area in the fifties, sixties, and seventies: Dad was a carpenter, so I had early exposure to construction sites, and keenly watched what was going on in the

Gary; One more add: The steel industry and foundries all over the country used vast quantities of refractory (oven bricks). Since they were valuable, they were usually shipped on pallets bound in

The B&OHS has several document about specialized cars including LO. The one from the early 1950s shows that most covered hoppers were in assigned service and not in pool service. So these cars

Thanks to everyone who replied. Really appreciate this group and their expertise. Gary Ray

Richard, Paul is correct that the Shops was the name of Chad's Monon model business. As a Monon modeler myself, I benefited a great deal from his creativity and I have too many of his kits to count.

How much do we model end of car details? The latest Resin Car Works blog post has tips and photos to illustrate the possibilities. http://blog.resincarworks.com/end-sill-details/ Eric Hansmann El

It could be a function of the utility of the covered hopper. If I (meaning a railroad) invest in a car that is specialized in nature, it's likely done with the intent of serving my customers' needs,

Hi to all There is a copy of the PFE freight car book by Tony Thompson and others on ebay

Hi Richard, ‘The Shops’ were kits from Chad Boas if I recallcorrectly. Chad has a price list on the Resincarworks site, but the ends (VanDorn?) are not listed. You may be able to contact

Brian Carlson wrote: Full agreement with Brian. This is the book that was the model for the PFE book, and inspired me to write the SP freight car volumes. It's a foundation. Tony Thompson

Charles I wonder if this relatively short haul has something to do with the high revenue per loaded car mile? In other words therevenue per car LOAD may not be much, even if per MILE it was higher

Several years ago Mont Switzer had an article in MM about building the Monon's USRA-style gondolas. He used ends on the car representing the spiral stamped ends the prototype had. They (the model

The Patton Clay Manufacturing Company located in Patton, Pennsylvania on the Cresson Secondary of the Pennsylvania Railroad shipped paving bricks in boxcars on pallets with straw between the layers

FWIW in the early 1960s I observed a box car with a load of bricks loaded the same manner with straw between layers. The car was spotted on the depot's team track, the Soo LIne in Waukesha, Wisconsin,

Gary the AAR published two Pamphlets related to loading brick in closed cars, including diagrams. No. 6 Methods for Loading, Bracing and Blocking Carload Shipments of Brick and Hollow Building

These are a few more observations from the national 1% carload waybill sample that I thought were interesting before starting to tabulate the state-to-state statistics. - the 1951 - 1953

Scott, Ted, I have that set of drawings. They are actual UP design drawings. Wayne Whitlow

I believe they were shipped on the Hocking Valley Rr in box cars separated by straw. Al Kresse

I am planning a brickworks on my layout and was wondering how what type of rail transportation would be used in the 1920’s. Were bricks hand stacked in cars? What type of stabilization?

Terry Metcalfe’s groundbreaking book is available on eBay for a very good price. About half what I paid for my copy. If you don’t have it and you’re a freight car person you need to buy it. No