on prototype railroads, but David Husman and his colleagues in
the Operations Special Interest Group [1] include some indus-
tries on model railroads because
some users enjoy including them
in their routings. These are specifi-
cally identified, if you don’t want
to use “model” industries.
Shenandoah Software’s IndMan
Freeware includes the OPSig
Industry Database. See more
information at:
Kalmbach’s book series by Jeff
Wilson, on “Industries Along the
Tracks,” can help you sort out the
cars needed for various industries
and loads. There are four volumes
in the set with different industries
in each, available in digital and
paper formats.
Hopper slope sheet color
Q.
I am working on a small fleet of hoppers that the Duluth,
Missabe and Iron Range Railway once used to move commer-
cial coal. I am certain the end slope sheets, and perhaps the
sides as well, had little paint left on them due to the abrasion
of the loads. I would like to find a photo or two that clearly
shows what the inside of a hopper looks like.
—Milt Spanton
MRH Q-A-T |
2
1. The all-scales
Operations SIG has an
active news group on
Yahoo, a website at
, and pub-
lishes the quarterly
Dispatchers Office
magazine.
MRH Q-A-T |
3
A.
In some cases, the interior of cars like this are not painted at all.
The steel develops a nice even coat of oxide (rust), except where the
load rubs it down. The oxide changes color over time, from pale to
dark. The dust left behind after the product is emptied will be the
color of the product – black for coal, oxide red for iron ore pellets,
gray for crushed rock, and so on.
Here’s a car used to haul gravel and crushed rock:
The Appalachian Railroad Modeling site has a great photo of the
insides of several B&O hoppers at
and on the Rail Pictures.Net website [2] at
JohnB
weathers hopper interiors, by airbrushing a coat of rail
brown, then dusting it with rust-colored chalk powder and seal-
ing it with a flat finish.
2. A Chesapeake & Ohio wreck, on Feb. 28, 1976 at Pearch,
VA, gives a good look at the weathered interiors of coal
hoppers. Stan Short photo
