Hi all,

I am pulling this out of the 2 bay hopper thread as it has implications way beyond my obsession with coal transportation.

There are a lot of lists I have tried to, and would like to, manage. However, at this stage of the Rob Show, there is little time for such pursuits. I know I am not alone in that.

Sooooo...

Google Docs has a feature which allows for group editing of spreadsheets.

I am thinking that in the next week I will set up a 2 bay hopper list and open it for updating. If that goes well, the model could be followed for many kinds of artifacts.

Two questions:
1. If I build it, will you come?
2. What kinds of info would you like to see on such a list beyond roadname/number, builder, blt date, etc...? I am thinking style of trucks, type of hopper door latch...

Rob

I'll definitely contribute. That's the kind of information I've been compiling for the Utah State Railroad Museum roster, and such a collaborative effort might bring answers up for other cars.

What kind of information should be included? Of course, the location and current owner, previous owners (if known), current use, along with the "standards" (trucks, weight, width, height, length over couplers, length over end sills, brake type, build date, builder, and all that other data as known).

You may want to add "gauge" to your chart; for example, the 3' gauge East Broad Top has numerous 3-bay hoppers left around the country, but only a few 2-bay hoppers are still in existence. I do not know if any of the 2-bays left the property or not.

Rob -

Answer to question 1 - Yes!
Answer to question 2 - I myself, don't think you need to get "too technical" in such a list. Current location. Status (Formally preserved or "just sitting"). Description (Ribbed or offset sides). Railroad and car number and previous railroad and car numbers (if known). Current condition (restored, restored but not lettered, undergoing restoration, unrestored, and to those cars not formally preserved the current condition such as excellent, good, fair, horrible). A way to update would be essential as car situations change. Build date would be great (if known). Length would be nice but not necessary. Truck type too would be nice, but again not necessary. Getting too technical on a list such as this would probably discourage entries or eventual list maintenance. As to whether the list should be standard gauge cars only (with a separate list for narrow gauge), that would be up to you.

My opinion.

Les

Here's a few 3 bay cars. I think I'll start this version of list.


Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, North Judson, Ind
N&W 40639 Class H-10 3 Bay

Reading Company Technical & Historical Society, Temple PA
RDG 40074 HTz 90 Ton, 3 Bay
RDG 40150 HTz 90 Ton, 3 Bay
RDG 59061 HTf 70 Ton, 3 Bay

Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL
GN 70104 PS-3 70 Ton, 3 Bay

Monticello Railway Museum, Monticello, IL
IC 65018 ? ? , 3 Bay

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, Campo, Calif
UP 17801 H-70-1 70 Ton, 3 Bay

OK folks, here is the link. Anyone with a Google log-in and the URL should be able to edit. I started the list, will add more, but feel free to do so if you have time or a hopper to report!

Rob

Surviving Standard Gauge 2-Bay Open Top Hopper Cars in North America
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av3tbqxRM3zNdGtUcXVQS3hBbkc0dmpMYms5Q2gzN0E

Here's a couple PRR cars for your enjoyment.

PRR 494739, an older 2 bay hopper lettered in the PRR yellow MOW scheme in Hamburg NY
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1714111

PRR 743240, I find this car extremely interesting because it's a H21G 4 bay hopper and only the third one I've been able to find. The other two are preserved in Museums in PA and NY respectively. This car is a rare bird indeed. It's apparently in in MOW service on the Patco line in New Jersey.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2113792

Pretty excited about this. I just added the hopper at the Utah State Railroad Museum.

What other lists can we put together? A collaborative effort would be an excellent medium, especially with the Google tools.

A few ideas:

3-foot gauge hoppers
Heavyweight passenger cars
rotary snow plows
railroad cranes (big hooks, derricks, etc.)

What sort of lists would interest some of you? I'd certainly volunteer to start another list or two so these projects don't fall to a single person.

Awesome, Josh. I would contribute to any of those lists.

I will also start one on milk cars, since I pretty much have all of that info.

All the best,
Rob

I need to get onto some of these subjects sooner. . .

In any event, what about combining all of these lists. . .call it the HORER, for Historic Official Railroad Equipment Register (yeah, I know, really creative here, ho, ho, ho). . .as noted above, might not need all the technical data (most of which was and is dimensional) in the real Equipment Register, but construction date, gauge, car type (could be general description such as flat car, or the AAR car codes), car construction notes (wood, steel, or composite), and trucks would be be appropriate. Other material that might be important but rare (link and pin couplers, straight air or hand-brake only) could go in a "Notes" or "Special Comments" section.

Hope we're not too far along with this. . .

It would be interesting if this HORER (or whatever it would be called) could be used for something like movie work, in which a whole period freight train could be put together from "interchange" cars--the definition here being quite loose compared with what a Class I would accept. . .

Love the idea. For the sake of those of us from Jersey could we call it the World Historic... or WHORER? see any Sopranos episode for the proper Jersey pronounciation of that word. ;-)

"For the sake of those of us from Jersey could we call it the World Historic... or WHORER? see any Sopranos episode for the proper Jersey pronounciation of that word. ;-)"--Robert John Davis

Alas, for some reason, I can imagine some officials and some railroaders, particularly on at least one big Class I, calling it "the HORROR"--"Hell with that Old Rail Road stuff on Our Road," to be followed by howls of anguish and the yelling and cursing railroaders have been known for, and which can rival the language of sailors. . .

And another surviving PRR MOW 2 bay hopper car:

http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=195670

This car currently used in ballast service at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. Note that the yellow MOW paint has faded so much that the original freight car red is starting to show through. Car number apparently was PRR 222529.

Les

That would be a North Jersey pronounciation. Us South Jerseyans don't talk that way and we are a more than bit touchy about the whole thing. Now Im gonna eat a tamayda sanwitch while fillin da boiler wit wooder, wen im dun,im gaun down da shore. :-)

Got a nice note this morning from a gentleman at the Western New York Railway Historical Society confirming that PRR 494739 is owned by their group. They eventually intend to restore it to its Pennsy in-service paint scheme. I have changed the List to reflect this ownership.

Les