I need some help with ideas for an industry using hoppers through steam, transition, and modern eras. I'm building a switching layout and want to be able to operate it in different eras with different rolling stock and locomotives. I'm thinking short covered hoppers in the steam era and larger covered hoppers in the transition and modern eras. I know it's a fairly vague question - thanks in advance.
Hi, small covered hoppers: sand mine or quarry salt mine, both change rarely over the years so could be used through the times... I'm sure you'll get many more suggestions. hth Michael
I'm planning around a couple hopper heavy industries, if I can ever get room to build. I'm intrigued by SP's beet hoppers and they had the 40's 50-80ish and other open hoppers past that. The other is a gypsum plant. I looked out and if I plan it right there is a prototype locale with a sugar and gypsum plants near a oil refinery and auto rack transfer area, the Susuin Bay/Port Chicago/Concord area in CA. SP and WP had areas and it's now shared by UP and BNSF.
Covered hoppers did exist in the 1950's, but I believe they were rare on most roads until well into the diesel era. If somebody knows otherwise, please correct me on this. For the mid-1960's and later, you have a lot of choices: grain, sand, cement, plastic pellets, phosphate, clay, sugar, salt, etc. etc.
Santa Fe 2 bays as early as 1936: cement, potash hoppers originally built as 3-bay open hoppers with roofs added (from old boxscars)- 1941 hoppers originally built as 4-bay open hoppers with roofs added (from old boxcars)- 1945 GA-90; First Santa Fe class of triple covered hopper 47' 1954: typical grain hopper. GA-93; first Santa Fe class of Airslide covered hopper,1955: flour and ----
Kenneth - those would make for cool kit bashes. Any idea on the specs? Not that I would do it but others here might be very interested in a thread about it.
Kit bashes? I assume you must mean the "roofed" open-hopper conversations. The 2-bay covered hoppers, 3 bays and Airslide are all available commercially- and I imagine in HO. As for the "roofed" hoppers, here are some bibliographic notes on published photos, plans and modeling articles. CLASS GA-24 Ralston open quad hopper 1929 181075-181149 listed Jan43EqptReg as open hoppers- 75 cars converted to roofed hopper 1945 w BX-8,-9,-10 roofs Listed Apr54EqptReg- 75 roofed hoppers Listed 61EqptReg as 58 roofed, 17 roof removed 181130 Listed Oct71EqptReg- 1 open car remaining N modeling using Atlas offset-side quad hopper Running Extra (members' supplement of Santa Fe Historical and Modeling Society) 1Q 2009 p.4 prototype Photo Santa Fe Diesels & Cars p.54 Photo roof detail, kitbash article MR June47 p.476 possible N model- extensive kitbash of Bachmann or Minitrix/ Model Power 4-bay offset-side open hopper w center hoppers reversed and roof added CLASS GA-43 open triple hopper, offset sides HT blt ACF 1936 181150-182009 listed Jan42EqptReg- 50open hoppers bldr photo 181199 Train Shed Cyclopedia#5 p.261 same photo Train Shed Cyclopedia#70 p.264 photo w trucks & details Santa Fe Modeler 4Q91 p.12 later converted to roofed (covered) hoppers 181150-180199 listed Apr54 EqptReg-50 roofed hoppers Listed 61EqptReg as 33 roofed, 17 roof removed Listed Oct71EqptReg as 9 open cars remaining. N model: Concor 3-bay offset-side open hopper GA-21 and GA-43 "roofed" hoppers. History, review and model pix of Sunshine Models kit to convert coal hoppers. Warbonnet 4Q99 p.29
Ken, could you be more specific? just kidding! I'm now thinking that I'll go with either gravel or coal. Or grain. Or... I dunno, I'm still working on wiring, so the decision can wait a bit. Thanks, Brian
A small brewery, such as the Yuengling brewery on the Reading and Blue Mountain Northern takes a small number of grain hoppers, or something like a pasta plant in the vein of Barilla pasta in New York state that also takes moderate numbers of hoppers, you could also do a trans-load facility like those by transflo. my best, Jan
Another couple of ideas would be sawdust from a lumber mill, although that was often burned locally, or wood chips used for paper making. Grain certainly would be a good choice in a Midwestern setting, and as I recall the earliest grain hoppers were actually old boxcars with cardboard liners over the doors and small hatches added to the roof. Another product would be fly ash from coal-fired power plants, used for awhile in the 50s and 60s as an additive in concrete. I hope these help. Don:tb-biggrin: