I was in Cuba, MO today and saw a string of cars - pretty new cars (they had the “swoosh” emblem on them). The numbers were all 967xxx. They looked like gondolas, but I couldn’t see the top to see if they were open or not. What are these?
The number series indicates that they are in maintenance of way service. Like many MOW equipment, these cars are not in the ORER (at least the January 2008).
So it’s likely that they’re MOW gondolas?
Yes. As Eric said, anything in the BNSF (or BN, for that matter) 900000 series (six-digit numbers) is a non-revenue car. Looking in BNSF’s own website, where non-revenue equipment can appear, I see nothing in the 967000 series. Get one specific number, and we’ll try again.
One doesn’t often see new gondolas in non-revenue service. Could they be ballast hoppers? Former coal gons?
One of them was 967141.
Thanks for the number, Alex. I should have been able to find something last night, but couldn’t. No problem this morning, though…
There’s a series of 90 cars here, BNSF 967130-967219, apparently built in mid-2005. They are of an unusual length for a gondola, inside length 51’10", outside length 59’5". The difference between inside and outside lengths is also unusual for an ordinary gon; it’s usually about half that. The total height of these cars is a few inches taller than that of a newer Railgon.
But that’s all I can get–no description to tell me whether these are indeed gons, or rebuilt from something else, no idea what they’re used for, or anything like that. Sorry!
Thanks, CShaveRR! These cars looked different from anything I’d ever seen before. If they’re still there next time I’m in Cuba, I’ll do my best to get some pics and post them.
They look like they have been rebuilt from bulkhead flatcars.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPicture.aspx?id=99876
Yep, that looks like them. Nice cartopper, by the way - I saw my first one of them in Burlington, IA about 2 months ago.
Bulkhead flat cars are a type of car that appear to be fading from the scene, at least in the original concept of a car with tall ends. A few have been cut down for steel loads (you don’t need a bulkhead more than four feet or so tall, and that weight could be used for payload), some have had bulkheads removed altogether (UP’s wide-cover coil cars, for example), and quite a few railroads are doing this to them, for non-revenue service, usually hauling ties. CN has done something similar, except they have a good supply of pulpwood cars, with inward-sloping floors, that they’ve used (mostly lettered IC, from what I’ve seen). CSX put some crossmembers over the floors of some of its pulpwood cars to make flat cars for specialized steel loading, sold a few to shortlines, and now they’re being condemned for some defect (or at least pulled out of service until the problems are corrected).
Still, in spite of all of that, some new bulkhead cars are being built for TTX, and possibly for others (I know that UP got one series post-merger, and just saw some BNSF cars built late last year).
Those machines moving from one car-top to another are fascinating to watch!
Those car toppers are interesting to watch. It’s amazing to me how they scoot around on top of those cars - the ones I saw in Burlington were being used on an all-hopper train loaded with ties. They made a heck of a lot of noise while they were up there, too!
Quite a bit of particleboard leaves Springfield OR on bulkhead flats. (Both UP and TTX) These loads would be hard to protect from the weather with tarps on center beam cars since the loads only reach about halfway up the end bulkheads. I’ve also seen quite a bit of steel riding rhose TTX cars.