50 TON HOPPER CARS

[NW Mailing List]

I operated a coal preparation plant at Sharondale on the Pond Creek branch near Williamson, WV.  In 1986 we were running stoker and got an emergency order from a broker for a customer (Rock of Ages) in New England.  The only car on the stoker track was a 50 ton hopper.  I remember the car was constructed in 1939 and somewhere I had the car number because I was sure it would be the the one and only 50 ton car we would ever load.  I told the plant crew to load it and not send the car back empty as we had planned due to the emergency at the customer.


The tag for the car also was the longest tag I ever prepared.  It had 5 railroads on it.  It began with Norfolk Southern and then Penn Central and Boston and Maine, Central of Vermont and the Washington County railroad as I recollect.  As you might expect, the car never arrived when expected.  It was delayed for 30 days for repairs at one of the off-line railroads.  We had to ship Rock of Ages another car of stoker to keep them going.


I suspect I may have loaded the last 50 ton hopper car that ever departed off -line on Norfolk Southern.


CHARLES O. CARLTON

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

PIKE RECLAMATION & DEVELOPMENT CO, INC.

        FOUNDED IN 1996

P.O. BOX 339

131 MAIN STREET, 3RD FLOOR

PIKEVILLE, KY  41501

(606) 213-9043
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