I am guessing there are thousands of aluminum coal hoppers and gons in use today which were built when the load limit was 263,000 lbs for 4 axel cars. Generally speaking, did these cars require upgrading to operate at 286,000 lbs, or was it just a matter of stenciling new numbers on their sides?
Thanks
For many of the original 263K cars, the sides were stencilled in small lettering that the “Car[s were] designed for 286000 lb G.R.L.” Those cars were, or were capable of, just being restencilled. I think that that includes a great majority of the aluminum Bethgons and similar cars.
Some of the early aluminum cars, such as Detroit Edison’s fleet of flat-bottomed aluminum gons (not the monster gons–those were 125-ton, I think, and that’s another story) weren’t capable of having the load limits raised. Not that their volume would make it feasible anyway. Those cars are now often found in fleets of leasing companies, since the original owners no longer want the unfavorable economies that they represent.
Thanks Carl !
I see aluminum gons and other cars stenceled for 315,000 lbs. l never hear or read about them but l see them, what’s that about?
Somebody may have to correct me on this, but these “125-ton” cars are able to be used only on limited portions of the rail network. They’re definitely not for everyone; they’ve been shown to cause damage to track structure out of proportion to the savings in tare weight involved.
That’s pretty much it.
315K is the next level in gross weight on four axles (two previous levels were 263K and 286K). While 315K is permitted on substantial portions of the U.S. rail network, it’s not in broad use yet, and I am not aware of a timetable to implement its broad use even for unit coal train service where the cars are captive.
In the 1970s there were some 315K cars operated, such as in soda ash service out of Green River, Wyoming, and on the Black Mesa & Lake Powell, but rail wear was deemed too high to make the higher gross weights economical.
I have seen some 315K covered hoppers in service but I don’t know if they’re actually loaded to 315K – legally, at least, since many carloads rarely see a scale these days.
This link goes to the UP gross weights map:
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/maps/grossweight.shtml
RWM