Model Railroading > Coal Hoppers - 6-packs or Singles?

Calling input from all of the coal train modelers out there...

Some manufacturers have provided coal hoppers in two or three different 6-packs, two or three different 5-packs, usually along with an extra single. Others do 24, 36, or 48 singles. It seems that all have been successful. When you are looking to buy coal hoppers do you prefer to buy them in 6-packs or in singles AND how many cars do you prefer to buy in one purchase?

I'm sure it somewhat depends on what the road name is on the car but do most of you buy coal hoppers to build a "train" of a specific length or ?

Thanks!

Lee Ryan - Rio Grande Fan
Denver, CO

Six-packs +1 single works for me.

IMHO, it depends on what you're modelling. Unit coal trains are BIG suckers - 100+ cars - so the more, the merrier. But of you're just modelling individual coal users like small power plants or industries, cars are delivered in batches from 3 to 6 or so. Very seldom do you see one coal car in any train.

I think the answer is more related to the type of hopper. Modern cars used in unit trains would be desirable in multiples packaged together. Older style cars would have a decent market for singles but could still be appealing as sets too. I guess I would consider anything based on a post 1975ish era prototype as a candidate for multiple only packaging. Any thing pre 1960ish, I would package individually. Finally anything from in between 1960 to 1975ish, package individually and offer a bundle for sets. (Kind of like LBF did with their Bethgons; individual car boxes packaged together as a six car set, or as a single.)

Not completely on topic, but as far as unit train type hoppers go; if the wheels and couplers are not quality, don't add the cost to the final product, just leave them off. Most modelers I've meet that run unit trains routinely swap these key parts for higher quality stuff. I bet you can find a company near by, that can provide at least the wheel sets... wink, wink!

Rick Bacon
Windsor, CO

On a layout I am working on we have several unit coal trains. These are 24-30 cars long. However, some coal will be delivered on some locals with from 1 to 6 cars depending on the needs of the costumers.

Our family layout has unit coal drags and we typically try and run 2 SD's and 20 cars plus a caboose.
This size allows us to get them into sidings and gives a nice feel for a unit train. So I guess
three 6 packs and two individuals.

I would like bigger trains but until I hit the lottery and can purchase an old K-Mart, grocery store
or factory this will have to work.

Kris

I model the modern Pocahontas Division of NS, off of the Clinch Valley District between St. Paul VA and Appalachia, VA. My rule of thumb I use is ~1/3 actual train length. My target for utility trains is 30-36 cars depending on the utility served. If they are company service cars, bound for export, then train length is targeted at 50-55 cars. Runs of 12 or 24 cars are best for me, but when those are not available, and only 5 or 6 packs are, I am willing to change road numbers, provided correct decals are available.

Regards,
Russ

Way back when Walthers came out with Bethgons,I bought a 6 pack of CSX. 1 6 pack did not seem enough, so I bought a 2nd CSX 6 pack with different #'s. For my layout I my sidings only hold 10 cars and 2 engines,so I ended up pulling 2 cars off the unit train. I have several other bottom drop hoppers that I run as whatever the mine ordered. GRS

Agree with the comments about packaging multiples/singles based on car type/era.

Also, don't forget about the occasional double rotary end cars. Include one within each 4-5 sets, or individually. I believe that Athearn has successfully packaged/sold double rotary cars both within sets and individually.

Also would be nice if within multiple sets the car numbers were left off, and the manufacturer provided decal sets for individual numbering.

John Parker
Longmont, CO
BNSF Fall River Division

Lee,

I collected 50 CSX Bethlehem Gon Hoppers for my modern-era coal train. I bought mostly six-packs when I could find them as it saved a few bucks. I also purchased both silver and black hoppers since CSX commonly mixes them on their trains and it was really the only way I could find that many of the same style hopper. 50 cars makes for a very long train even on our club layout...and don't forget the Ring Engineering EOT! I also found a guy on eBay that made very realistic coal loads at a reasonable price.

One suggestion, I noticed that I had to ream out the axle pockets on the trucks to get the cars to roll smoothly and not cause derailments. I was surprised how even brand new cars needed this badly. Hope this helps.

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santafedan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On a layout I am working on we have several unit
> coal trains. These are 24-30 cars long. However,
> some coal will be delivered on some locals with
> from 1 to 6 cars depending on the needs of the
> costumers.


Same here - 25 to 30 car coal trains. I am modeling the D&RGW in the 70's and 80's and have been collecting appropriate unit coal trains typical of that time frame including NORX (25), PSCX (25) and D&RGW/UP Hi side Thrall gondola's (30), CSDPU/CSDU 5-bay Orter coal train (40 total), D&RGW Bethlehem quads (36 Walthers and 6 Exactrail) plus a mix of Stewart 3-bay and Atlas 3-bay coal cars. I also have 20 of the Athearn Thrall blue end D&RGW cars (1981-1984).

5-car and 6-car sets of course are how I bought most of my coal cars since I needed to build unit trains. Singles for the Stewarts and Atlas since thats the only way they came. I hope Athearn will run more numbers of the NORX and PSCX coal cars

Decades ago MDC had a 12 pack of BN hoppers so I bought my first 12 pack. When my distributor came in a month later he still had some in stock but... So I ordered another dozen cars.
My coal train was starting to fill out, then.... The distributor came in again, he knew he had a sucker on the line, gave me the pitch that they were sold out. I didn't think my train was filled out enough so I ordered another dozen cars and I also ordered the same cars for another distributor. Guess what. I got 24 more cars. The train was looking good now, but... Distributor one came back in and told me they had one more set and he was holding them just for me. What could I say?? Send me those suckes, or was I the sucker? Well the train has grown to about 100 c ars the last time I ran it. I pulled it with an old bb Athearn F45 and a RPPGE B-Unit down in Long Beach during the NMRA conventin there. People could not believe that I was pulling the whole thing thru a reverse loop with just two units. What I didn't tell anyone is that I had about 50 pounds of lead weights in the F45. 8^}
It was a lot of fun..

Agree that anybody modeling modern era prototypically wants multiple car numbers for coal hoppers. Loose-car coal shipments are increasingly rare; the only examples I regularly see are the RBMN anthracite loads that ship out of Pennsylvania to various foundries and other customers. And the only time I've seen modern utility-owned cars in ones and twos is after such cars have been set out somewhere because of an en-route problem, so if you're in for one of those, you should want to be in for as many as would fit on your layout as a unit train (I would think minimum 15 cars to give a credible unit-train feel, but that's just my opinion).

As for the person who suggested un-numbered cars, I believe the manufacturers' experience is that un-numbered cars just don't sell enough to justify making them. It's not that hard to change car numbers if the available sets don't provide enough variety.

RioGrandeFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When you are looking to buy coal hoppers do you
> prefer to buy them in 6-packs or in singles AND
> how many cars do you prefer to buy in one purchase?
>
> do most of you buy coal hoppers
> to build a "train" of a specific length or ?


I generally buy the 5 car sets and try to get all the numbers offered, and in many cases have duplicate numbers also. I do try to build visually convincing (for a modest home layout) unit coal trains. I have bought singles too, such as Stewart and Atlas coal cars, that are only offered that way - because they were good matches for my prototype.

Athearn has released their Thrall Hi side gons in 5-car sets, which have been one of my bread-and-butter coal cars. I'd like more but most are long sold out and Athearn hasn't been quick to release more numbers.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

I'm with most of the others. The five car (Athearn) or six car (Walthers) sets are the quick way to build a coal train with multiple numbers. I do rather appreciate the way Tangent released their UP coal hoppers - you could buy packs of one, three or six cars of a given paint scheme. The double-ended cars were offered as singles.

For my size of layout I find that about two dozen cars make a suitably impressive train but still can be managed. I do tend to buy my coal trains with a target of 30-36 cars in case I expand the trackage or need extra cars.

The longer the better really. I am hoping Athearn will re-run more of the western Thrall gons - they presently have paints such as DLWR, Sullivan Scrap, DJJX and CRBX. Might be latter day, I don't recognize them.

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The longer the better really. I am hoping Athearn
> will re-run more of the western Thrall gons - they
> presently have paints such as DLWR, Sullivan
> Scrap, DJJX and CRBX. Might be latter day, I
> don't recognize them.


These are the current-day liveries for the steel gons that have mostly, if not entirely, been reassigned to scrap-metal service now that aluminum cars dominate the coal trade. We see these cars in scrap and demolition debris service all over the East -- and unlike when they were in unit coal service, it's prototypically accurate to see them in ones and twos or mixed in with other scrap/debris car types now; for example, the scrap handler that loads "residual municipal waste" at SMS Rail in Swedesboro, NJ uses former coal gons and former NP/GN/BN wood chip cars in this service. ("Residual municipal waste" is metal salvaged from trash incinerators.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/14 18:59 by toledopatch.

I gather that. Those didn't look like coal liveries. No good for coal service.

Cheers, Jim

bnsfbuff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Also, don't forget about the occasional double
> rotary end cars. Include one within each 4-5 sets,
> or individually. I believe that Athearn has
> successfully packaged/sold double rotary cars both
> within sets and individually.
>
> Also would be nice if within multiple sets the car
> numbers were left off, and the manufacturer
> provided decal sets for individual numbering.

The double ender rotary cars are usually one per train so one as a single issue with the rest in 5 or 6 car packs is perfect. The only trains I ever saw with two doulbe enders was on the BN when slave locomotives and caboose were used. One double ender between the two locomotive sets and one beteen the slaves and the caboose. Time would see the need for double enders go away, and then return as railroads began using Distributed Power.

I have mentioned thia concept (no numbers) to a couple car makers and they found that they didn't sell! Demand was too low. We agreed that this didn't make sense, but that was the experience. I guess the need to be able to put them on the track and never touch them again is too great. Modelers don't want to need to letter, chagne trucks, nor change couplers. Sad state we are in these days.

Rob

intermountain is getting into the HO scale coalporters.

http://www.intermountain-railway.com/modelersclub/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Coal-Porters1.jpg