Canadian Railroads > Churchill grain deliveries

Since it sounds as if the Churchill grain terminal will reopen, are boxcars still be used for grain deliveries?  If I remember correctly axle loadings do not permit the use of 100-ton covered hoppers, at least not fully loaded.  Back when I visited many years ago there was a large fleet of reconditioned but still friction bearing boxcars used to haul the grain.  I also seem to remember some CN effort to develop a lower axle load covered hopper specifically for this service.  Can any one tell me what the current practice is?

JBWX

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WOW!  You are taxing my memory but I do recall on my most recent trips there prior to the flood, box cars were no longer in use but grain hoppers were/  Perhaps they were not fully loaded.  Perhaps someone else can fill in more details on this.

Weren't some of the Govt of Canada hoppers that CN had (still has?) made of aluminum instead of steel (lower tare weight) and used for this purpose?

I doubt there's even a hundred 40 foot, 6 foot door, grain boxcars still running in revenue service anymore.
Might be a couple in MOW service, maybe.

PHall Wrote:
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> I doubt there's even a hundred 40 foot, 6 foot
> door, grain boxcars still running in revenue
> service anymore.
> Might be a couple in MOW service, maybe.

Forty-foot grain boxcars were rare when I took the picture 15 or so years ago.  But all those cars in the picture had been through a recent overhaul program apparently subsidized by the Province.  Yet they retained friction bears, which were already outlawed from interchange service.  Apparently the boxcars were in captive service on the CN.   Which is why I am interested in what are they using now.  Perhaps the load limits over the line have been increased, or perhaps they are partially loading 100-ton covered hoppers.  If I remember the CN built a prototype articulated aluminum covered hopper for this service, but so far as I know it never got beyond testing due to the cost.

JBWX

Can they build aluminum box cars to cut axle load ?

Posted from Android

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> Can they build aluminum box cars to cut axle load
> ?
>
> Posted from Android

If you're going to build cars why build 40 foot boxcars?