CSX Coal Hopper Weirdness

[sirenwerks]

Was in Harpers Ferry entertaining a 42-year-old non-railfan female and her daughters, 10 and 5 today. Parked @ the station and as we were getting everything loaded into the car for re-entry, a coal train rolls by. Had to rub my eyes - there were numerous cars that looked like former PS 4000s or 4427s sans top, painted like regular coal hoppers. Couldn't snap a photo, too wrapped up in car seats @ that moment. But want to know from you contemporary CSX-heads, are they that desperate for hoppers that they're rebuilding the old Pullman Standard cars thus?

[ljudice]

I watch these trains all the time on the Sandpatch cam on Trainorders and haven't seen that at all...

Are you sure you didn't see CSX GRAY coal hoppers?   There are also a wide range of leased cars on CSX - of many flavors - due to the fact that most of the CR rebuilds started falling apart last year.

- Lou

[wcfn100]

ATSF had some PS 4000's converted to open top ballast service.  Maybe something similar?

Jason

[ljudice]

Another question...   did any of the cars say "Coke Express" on them or ex Family Lines/Seaboard System.  The Coke cars do have a profile a lot like the PS 4000's...

Also did the train have WLE engines?  I think they run the one coke train through there.

I "forced" myself to watch the last 7-8 coal trains through Hyndman and nothing in any train matches what you describe initially.

- Lou

[sirenwerks]

These cars were definitely x-covered hoppers. The end sheets did not come to the end of the car (where the ladder and roof extension are on covered hoppers) and the bay doors were covered hopper-type (technical terminology escapes me @ the moment). So my initial PS4000/4427 reference was incorrect, they were more like a PS2893 (minus the roof section over the hopper bays); but they seemed taller (that could have been an effect of being parked trackside). I don't remember seeing any reference to coke service but these cars, in fact most of the cars in this particular train, seemed freshly painted; just big CSX lettering.

[Robbman]

But want to know from you contemporary CSX-heads, are they that desperate for hoppers that they're rebuilding the old Pullman Standard cars thus?

Yes.  They've had a rebuild/refurb program in place for standard open hoppers going on for several years now (extending the life of the car), but it can't keep pace with demand (you still end up with a low capacity car (3000+ cu ft), combined with losing cars that can't pass inspection).  Converting a covered hopper might seem odd, but it's a good short-term solution.  Take a car that has 5-6 years left that you're not really using, and put it to use.

NS is in the same position... it's hopper fleet, even with life extensions, is approaching it's useful limit.  They've been buying high-capacity (4000+ cu ft)stainless steel triples from FCA by the thousands...   

     

[inkaneer]

NS closed down the old PRR Holidaysburg, PA shops where Conrail was building double tubs from kits supplied by Johnstown.  NS said the shops were not needed and they were confident in the TOPGON program plus new acquisitions to more than meet their needs.   Other industry insiders doubted it and the union claimed it was only NS' attempt to get rid of the union.   The shops reopened doing work for other RR's but that was short lived.  Lots of accusations as to why with a lot of the finger pointing directed at NS.  Now they are an under utilized industrial park making roof trusses for homes and maybe some other products.  NS is not a well liked neighbor in the area as a result. 

[ljudice]

There are a couple of cars that are kind of tall-ish and the end sections do look like covered hoppers - on a coal train today.

But it has a bathtub bottom - and is painted gray....


I think the CAMS on Trainorders are freely available now - check it out  http://www.trainorders.com  and then the Sand Patch Cam and find a coal train...

- Lou

[Robbman]

NS closed down the old PRR Holidaysburg, PA shops where Conrail was building double tubs from kits supplied by Johnstown.  NS said the shops were not needed and they were confident in the TOPGON program plus new acquisitions to more than meet their needs.   Other industry insiders doubted it and the union claimed it was only NS' attempt to get rid of the union.   The shops reopened doing work for other RR's but that was short lived.  Lots of accusations as to why with a lot of the finger pointing directed at NS.  Now they are an under utilized industrial park making roof trusses for homes and maybe some other products.  NS is not a well liked neighbor in the area as a result.

They also closed down the East End Shops in Roanoke after the TopGon and HighTop programs ended in 2000 (reopened in 2005 as FCA Roanoke , and has built those thousands of stainless triples and hybrid gons for NS using some of the original EES employees).   I don't think Hollidaysburg had any program going on when it was closed in 2001...