1. RealSTMFC | Main
  2. Topics

Battleship Gon After Many Battles -- almost a book

water.kresse@...
 

We (three members of C&O and N&W Historical Society) had thrown together an approximate 64-page book on the C&O, N&W, and VGN 100-120-ton CLASS 6-wheel trucked gondola cars with Hundman Drawings on originals and rebuilds . . . with tons of picture . . . in a now non-supported early 32-bit version of InDesign that the Adobe Website will not authorize to be moved to a newer version of Windows.  For lack of needed numbers to cover printer's cost of potential purchasers, i.e. only 200 or so, it has not been published.  "Battleship Gons" turns out to be a railfan terminology.  The railroad press did talk about "Battleships" when early all-steel hopper cars came on the scene.  Some yard workers riding the "hump" called them "Holy Rollers" . . . if the manually selective Loaded/Unloaded air brakes were improperly set coming into the yard from the mines.  The Russell Yard had Bibles in rider's waiting room.

THIS PHOTO IS REMARKABLE!  STILL ALIVE AND WORKING IN A YARD AT THIS LATE DATE!

Al  Kresse

From: "j.markwart@... [STMFC]"
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 3:19:17 PM
Subject: Aw: Re: [STMFC] Battleship Gon After Many Battles

 


Those huge Battleship gons are really impressive. Thanks for the photo link to the abused car. And I suppose none of these has been preserved, correct? I have 46 of the old brass NPP models (which I am upgrading, of course) and the matching CB 2-10-10-2 class AE (which also needs upgrades and detail corrections).
The cars need completely new trucks and brake detailing, which I intend to use 3D prints for.
 
Unfortunately I can't find much of these cars online. Does anyone know a good source of pics and other information, either online or printed?
 
Thanks and Regards
 
Johannes
 
Gesendet: Sonntag, 19. Juni 2016 um 05:31 Uhr
Von: "Mike Bauers mwbauers55@... [STMFC]"
An: STMFC@...
Betreff: Re: [STMFC] Battleship Gon After Many Battles
 

I think just a few years later, the place that I work for, P&H Mining Equipment, made regular use of the same class of cars. They certainly were recognizable as the same battleship gons,

 
We would fill it up over several days with metal chips and turning scraps from the machine shop. Then it would travel from the 4300 block of West National Avenue to about 1500 East where the big pig-iron and scrap yard was on Jones Island. That was on the south end of the same general yard used by the B&O RR car ferry dock at the north end of the yards.
 
These cars were used for many years like that. They looked to be in much better condition than the one in the link.
 
And yet….. they would be filled to over-flowing before they were were finally collected and moved to the steel scrap collection site.
 
One day I was sight-seeing on Jones Island on the weekend and I got to see what was the end of one of the loaded cars.
 
It almost made it all the way into the scrap collection company…… Almost …..
 
When I saw it, it was several hundred feet away from that place with the middle of the car bent down and resting on the rails. The car had broken its back with the steel scrap load piled about the middle outside of the car, where it had sort of flowed out of the now ‘V’ shaped and bowed out car sides. 
 
I had a camera with me and took some pictures, not that I know where those are today.
 
It was different to see and considering that I had read somewhere that the battleship gons were built to haul coal, I instantly understood how the repeated loads of much heavier steel chips finally did it in.
 
Best to ya,
Mike Bauers
Milwaukee, Wi
 
On Jun 18, 2016, at 9:30 PM, thecitrusbelt wrote:
 
Photo Caption: " Caption: “This car used by Northwestern Steel & Wire to haul scrap around their sprawling mill complex started life on the Virginian Railway. Nicknamed "battleship gons” Virginian had over 2000 of these cars that rode on six-wheeled trucks. This was taken sometime in 1980.“
 

 

 
Photo by John Leopard
 

 

 

 




Brad Andonian
 

Al,

I would have interest [estimated cost?] and would encourage you to reach out to Rich Yoder who made a run of these in O scale.   Rich could likely offer some help in reaching his customers for the models and driving some orders your way.

Thanks,
Brad Andonian


On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 2:56 PM, "water.kresse@... [STMFC]" wrote:


 
We (three members of C&O and N&W Historical Society) had thrown together an approximate 64-page book on the C&O, N&W, and VGN 100-120-ton CLASS 6-wheel trucked gondola cars with Hundman Drawings on originals and rebuilds . . . with tons of picture . . . in a now non-supported early 32-bit version of InDesign that the Adobe Website will not authorize to be moved to a newer version of Windows.  For lack of needed numbers to cover printer's cost of potential purchasers, i.e. only 200 or so, it has not been published.  "Battleship Gons" turns out to be a railfan terminology.  The railroad press did talk about "Battleships" when early all-steel hopper cars came on the scene.  Some yard workers riding the "hump" called them "Holy Rollers" . . . if the manually selective Loaded/Unloaded air brakes were improperly set coming into the yard from the mines.  The Russell Yard had Bibles in rider's waiting room.

THIS PHOTO IS REMARKABLE!  STILL ALIVE AND WORKING IN A YARD AT THIS LATE DATE!

Al  Kresse

From: "j.markwart@... [STMFC]"
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 3:19:17 PM
Subject: Aw: Re: [STMFC] Battleship Gon After Many Battles

 

Those huge Battleship gons are really impressive. Thanks for the photo link to the abused car. And I suppose none of these has been preserved, correct? I have 46 of the old brass NPP models (which I am upgrading, of course) and the matching CB 2-10-10-2 class AE (which also needs upgrades and detail corrections).
The cars need completely new trucks and brake detailing, which I intend to use 3D prints for.
 
Unfortunately I can't find much of these cars online. Does anyone know a good source of pics and other information, either online or printed?
 
Thanks and Regards
 
Johannes
 
Gesendet: Sonntag, 19. Juni 2016 um 05:31 Uhr
Von: "Mike Bauers mwbauers55@... [STMFC]"
An: STMFC@...
Betreff: Re: [STMFC] Battleship Gon After Many Battles
 
I think just a few years later, the place that I work for, P&H Mining Equipment, made regular use of the same class of cars. They certainly were recognizable as the same battleship gons,
 
We would fill it up over several days with metal chips and turning scraps from the machine shop. Then it would travel from the 4300 block of West National Avenue to about 1500 East where the big pig-iron and scrap yard was on Jones Island. That was on the south end of the same general yard used by the B&O RR car ferry dock at the north end of the yards.
 
These cars were used for many years like that. They looked to be in much better condition than the one in the link.
 
And yet….. they would be filled to over-flowing before they were were finally collected and moved to the steel scrap collection site.
 
One day I was sight-seeing on Jones Island on the weekend and I got to see what was the end of one of the loaded cars.
 
It almost made it all the way into the scrap collection company…… Almost …..
 
When I saw it, it was several hundred feet away from that place with the middle of the car bent down and resting on the rails. The car had broken its back with the steel scrap load piled about the middle outside of the car, where it had sort of flowed out of the now ‘V’ shaped and bowed out car sides. 
 
I had a camera with me and took some pictures, not that I know where those are today.
 
It was different to see and considering that I had read somewhere that the battleship gons were built to haul coal, I instantly understood how the repeated loads of much heavier steel chips finally did it in.
 
Best to ya,
Mike Bauers
Milwaukee, Wi
 
On Jun 18, 2016, at 9:30 PM, thecitrusbelt wrote:
 
Photo Caption: " Caption: “This car used by Northwestern Steel & Wire to haul scrap around their sprawling mill complex started life on the Virginian Railway. Nicknamed "battleship gons” Virginian had over 2000 of these cars that rode on six-wheeled trucks. This was taken sometime in 1980.“
 
 
 
Photo by John Leopard
 
 
 
 





Tony Thompson
 

Al Kresse wrote:

 
For lack of needed numbers to cover printer's cost of potential purchasers, i.e. only 200 or so, it has not been published.  

      Al, something like this is readily made into a printed book. You can make it up as a Xeroxed copy, and print them as needed at your local copy shop; or better yet, go online and seek them out. They offer you templates and guidelines. Blurb is one of them, which I used to make 50th wedding anniversary book of 50 pages, very easy hand quick to do. Don't just think of conventional offset printing.

Tony Thompson             Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705         www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@...
Publishers of books on railroad history





water.kresse@...
 

Tony,

For me personally, it is the quality of photos that is the kicker.  POD's, unless on color paper, really doesn't hack it much of the time.

Al

From: "Tony Thompson tony@... [STMFC]" <STMFC@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 7:35:41 PM
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Battleship Gon After Many Battles -- almost a book

 

Al Kresse wrote:

 
For lack of needed numbers to cover printer's cost of potential purchasers, i.e. only 200 or so, it has not been published.  

      Al, something like this is readily made into a printed book. You can make it up as a Xeroxed copy, and print them as needed at your local copy shop; or better yet, go online and seek them out. They offer you templates and guidelines. Blurb is one of them, which I used to make 50th wedding anniversary book of 50 pages, very easy hand quick to do. Don't just think of conventional offset printing.

Tony Thompson             Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705         www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; e-mail, tony@...
Publishers of books on railroad history






1 - 4 of 4