Side-Dump Car Restoration *PIC*

Matt Helton · **Posted:** Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:58 pm

The Goose Creek Railroad in Bristol, Virginia recently completed the restoration of a two-foot gage side-dump car that was originally used in the Ebensburg, Pennsylvania sewage treatment plant. The builder and the build date are unknown. According to the previous owners, the car was used to move sand from a stockpile out to the sewage beds for use as a filtering agent. In 1992, the Tuckahoe Valley Railroad in Tyrone, Pennsylvania acquired several of the cars and used them to haul stone on their private railroad. However, after the owner of the TVRR passed away, the cars were put into temporary storage with the rest of the TVRR equipment. In September 2003, Wiley & Matt Helton (father & son owners of Goose Creek RR) purchased TVRR #1 and hauled it 550 miles to southwestern Virginia. After initial trial runs, the car was moved to the shop for total refurbishment. The axles were widened from a gauge of 23.5 inches to 24 inches and the roller bearings were overhauled. Then the car was sandblasted, wire-brushed, and painted in standard GCRR colors.

Does anyone know anything about these dump cars? Builder? Date built?

Goose Creek Railroad

gcrrmch@aol.com

Bob Kutella · **Posted:** Wed Nov 26, 2003 7:41 am

>
> Does anyone know anything about these dump
> cars? Builder? Date built?

At first glance, the design is similar to the Koeppel cars used 100 years ago in this country, but the use of roller bearings and a welded body suggest homebuilt more recently, or heavily modified and repaired.

Bob Kutella

68trolley@comcast.net

Ed Fritz · **Posted:** Wed Nov 26, 2003 11:37 am

> The axles were widened from a
> gauge of 23.5 inches to 24 inches and the
> roller bearings were overhauled. Then the
> car was sandblasted, wire-brushed, and
> painted in standard GCRR colors.

> Does anyone know anything about these dump
> cars? Builder? Date built?

Sounds like it was originally 60 cm gauge ("gage" iaw FRA) which is 23 5/8 inches. 60 cm was only used in the US by the Army on various posts. Originally 60 cm was extensively used in Europe through WWI and the Army had a fair sized inventory of equipment at the end of WWI that had not been shipped over to Europe. This equipment was used through WWII here in the use and the last of it was declared surplus in the late '40s. Your dump car doesn't match any of the pictures I've seen of the those dump cars manufactured for the USA though.

Ed

ff1044@aol.com