PUBLIC UTILITY COAL GONS... TYPES AND DATES

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

Someone please help me out on when Public Utility coal gons started to appear… for all i know it could have been way back…

I have some of the Roundhouse High Sided Gons and bathtubs in both BN and Utilities. I also have CNW Coalporters… and I’ve just seen a bunch of Atlas Public Utility high sided gons. I think that there were/are also Bethgons?

The biggest quetions are

  1. Did they run only in block trains (at least when new)?
  2. Were they strictly dedictaed or did they travel and/or get mixed up with each other?
  3. Were different types compatible with each other (provided they were the right length for the tipping gear - and the right way round for the rotary couplings)?
    Last but not least…
  4. What types were there from c1965 to 1990 and when did they appear.

that’s a load of Qs… Thanks for all help![:D]

2

Aye aye aye you’re making brain smoke.

I believe bethgons/coalporters started appearing in the mid 80s. Conrail and CSX built their own from parts supplied by Bethlehem steel co. and their old hopper fleet. CONRAIL and CSX’s home built coalporters have 13 panels instead of the usual 14.

Utility Owned cars usually operate in unit trains but it’s not uncommon to see a couple railroad owned cars pinchhitting too. I’ve also seen a couple occasions of Coal Gons operating alongside standard hopper cars. Because they’re privately owned they didn’t get mixed in with another utility company’s cars.

This is the best help I can give you.

3

The prototypes of the Roundhouse high-side gons (I’m thinking of the all-black NORX gons) go back to around 1965 or so when I first saw them running on the South Shore Line.

4

Thanks for the help[8D][8D]
Does that mean that Conrail and CSX Gons were shorter or that they had a double sized panel?
I have some NORX Gons… who/what were NORX? As a word it sounds like something disgusting or a race out of Star Trak…

Thanks again[:)][:)]

5

NORX is the reporting mark for Northern Indiana Public Service Co (NIPSCO). Their earlier coal gons were all black with a yellow asterisk at one end. NIPSCO has two or three generating plants located on the South Shore Line. The earliest unit trains were interchanged with C&EI at Burnham, and South Shore delivered them to Bailly or Michigan City in two sections since South Shore’s electrical system couldn’t supply enough power to move the entire train at one time.

6

CR’s coal gons started showing up (at least on the former Monongahela lines) sometime in the late '80s / early '90s. Up until then, 100-bay hoppers were used. Now NS uses both types interchangeably. Sometimes you can see them both in the same train :slight_smile: