Let me throw in another vote for boxcars over covered hoppers. Until around the mid 1950’s, covered hoppers were used for cement, lime, potash, and similar commodities, with specialized covered hoppers for carbon black and other specified loads. Any covered hoppers assigned to grain service were generally brand new, and specifically assigned to grain service. Use of covered hoppers for grain was a brand new concept, which began to take hold around 1954-60. By 1960, the idea was generally accepted, and shippers were busy converting their facilities to handle shipments in covered hoppers.
Let me throw in another vote for boxcars over covered hoppers. Until around the mid 1950’s, covered hoppers were used for cement, lime, potash, and similar commodities, with specialized covered hoppers for carbon black and other specified loads. Any covered hoppers assigned to grain service were generally brand new, and specifically assigned to grain service. Use of covered hoppers for grain was a brand new concept, which began to take hold around 1954-60. By 1960, the idea was generally accepted, and shippers were busy converting their facilities to handle shipments in covered hoppers. Your era places you right at the very beginning of this change, so most or all of your grain shipments should be in boxcars.
Thanks for your kind remarks, Bob. The layout’s based on southern and south western Ontario, but no particular place or prototype. I have named the towns after real ones (and some of the industries, too), but none are recognisable as such. [swg]