Southern 9791 was photographed on the east approach to the
Rockville Bridge north of Harrisburg, PA in 1993. After spotting this one I asked
a few knowlegable friends and they said they were used to carry tobacco, can anyone
confim this? Are they still around?
Brian Clark provided this information December 13, 1999:
They may still be used in the Carolinas. I haven't seen them in this area
hauling tobacco for quite some time now (I think they disappeared when RJ
Reynolds left Lexington). Every now and then, one shows up in NS's Gest St.
yard in Cincinnati. From where they spot it, I don't know if it's in
company service or if it is delivering to a lumber dealer (or what it's
carrying).
The following table is from freight car diagrams produced by NS's
Mechanical Deptartment.
|
Series 9773 - 9798 Built in 1962 by Coster Shop
Current NS class : BS23 |
| LD. LMT. 115500 lbs |
IL 84' 4" |
Truck Centers: 75' 1" |
| LT. WT. 104500 lbs |
IW 9' 6" |
Youngstown Plug Door |
| Plate F |
IH 11' 10" |
Door Opening: 10' 0" X 8' 4" |
| 9610 Cu. ft. |
EXL 92' 1-1/8" |
30" sliding sill underframe |
|
EXW 10' 1-7/8" |
Barber trucks |
|
EXH 16' 1-13/16" |
33" wheels |
Timothy O'Connor adds:
Yes, these cars were used to transport tobacco, in what
I think are called "Hog's Heads" or "hogsheads" if you will. Barrels
of some kind. Ambroid made an excellent kit for these in the 1960's.
|
Darrell Sawyer contributes:
In September of 1993, I photographed SOU 9781 in Auburn, WA
at the regional Good Year tire distributorship, having tires
unloaded. The "port holes" on the angled section of the roof
had been plugged with plywood.
|
|
Southern 9791 was photographed on the east approach to the
Rockville Bridge north of Harrisburg, PA in 1993. After spotting this one I asked
a few knowlegable friends and they said they were used to carry tobacco, can anyone
confim this? Are they still around?
This WP car was photographed at a transfer terminal in York, PA in the mid 1990's.
The large door is what caught my eye. I am guessing it is designed to carry lumber?
These DOD boxcars were on thes same train as SOU 9791 shown
above. These cars have double plug doors
on the sides and hinged doors on the ends with and human sized entry door. There is a rough
drawing of this car in the '1980 Car & Locomotive Cyclopedia'. They have an 85 ton capacity and
were built by Maxson starting in 1976. The two DOD cabooses
were bringing up the rear of the train. Photos I have of these cars in the 1980s show
them all in white with black lettering, this group had red, yellow and green cars.