Model Railroading > Modernized PS 2893 3-bay hopper?

Athearn and maybe others have a model of a PS 2893 3-bay covered hopper that I'm guessing was built in the late 50's and absent from the rails today. I'm wondering if anyone knows info or of a model of a similar looking car that CSX appears to still have in service in the 22000-224000 series. A couple photo listings say it is 2929 cubic capacity, and it has different rib and hatch spacing. I remember seeing the cars mixed in with 2-bay hoppers, and I'm curious about them now because it seems like a design/car type that no other railroad still has in service.

I wouldn't be surprised to find these cars in phosphate service out of Florida. At one time this capacity might have been used as a 70 ton grain car but grain went to 100-130 ton loads so older hoppers got downgraded to other service. Phosphate can be caustic to steel cars so phosphate is pretty much an end of lifetime service for older cars. It is more dense than grain so the smaller cubic capacity is not an issue.

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Walther's 2893 PS2 is a newer version, than Athearn's, but I'm guessing it is more representative of an early 60's version.

KC

I have seen the cars described here, too, in Ohio, hauling limestone or similar aggregate.

toledopatch Wrote:
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> I have seen the cars described here, too, in Ohio,
> hauling limestone or similar aggregate.

Yeah, and they differ from the Walthers car and any other similar model I've seen. Their hatches and ribs are evenly spaced across the length of the car.

These cars are, in fact, slightly different 2929 cuft covered hoppers that were built new by Pullman-Standard for CRR, ACL/SAL (later SCL), and L&N in the 1960s (about a decade after the 2893s). The 2929 is a 100 ton car, compared to the lighter 70 ton 2893, and the 2929 is about 6" wider.

Here are some of the CSX number series (I'm in a little bit of a rush, so I may miss a couple):

CSXT 214360-214368 (CRR 60300-60309)
CSXT 214369-214387 (CRR 60400-60419)
CSXT 220580-220581 (LN 201983-201984)
CSXT 220720-220796 (LN 38750-38849)
CSXT 220797-220802 (LN 201894-201899)
CSXT 220803-220810 (LN 201905-201912)
CSXT 220812-220813 (LN 201943-201944)
CSXT 220830-220969 (CRR 60500-60639)
CSXT 220970-221769 (SCL 420000-420799)
CSXT 221770-222769 (SCL 420800-421799)
CSXT 222770-223369 (SCL 421800-422399)
CSXT 223370-223969 (SCL 689200-689799)
CSXT 223970-224169 (SCL 830750-830949)
CSXT 224170-224319 (SCL 830950-831099)
CSXT 224320-224819 (SCL 832000-832499)

As mentioned in the original post, these cars differ from a 2893 in some (to me) significant ways, most notably the continuous, evenly-spaced side post arrangement, instead of the 4-3-4 post arrangement of the 2893. The evenly-spaced roof hatches, shown in the third photo below, are also a spotting feature. The earlier cars (first photo below) had side ladders at the righthand end like a 2893, but later cars (second photo) have three horizontal grab irons on the sides in place of the ladder.

Here are some detail shots of a 2929, in case you're interested:

CSXT 222674:
http://drolsen.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPicture.aspx?id=341002

I have a few undecorated Athearn 2893 models that I plan to kitbash into 2929s by removing the ribs and redoing them with styrene strip, as well as cutting up and rearranging the roof to match the 2929 hatch spacing. I'll also modify the side ladders to match the 3 grab iron arrangement on most of CSX's cars. I'll obviously have to live with the 6" difference in width, since I don't think we'll see a model of the 2929 anytime soon. CSX and its predecessors had tons of them, but they weren't too common elsewhere, although a few ex-CSX cars are showing up with other owners in recent years.

Hope that helps,

Dave

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drolsen Wrote:
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>
> Hope that helps,
>
> Dave

Sure does, that answers everything. Quite alot of those cars. Interested to see how your model turns out!

I have heard the model of the photograph, kitbashed by a modeler named Tom Landrigan from Weaver PS-2 2-bay. I have repaired it. The lettering and the form is certainly mismatch.

Kotaro Kuriu
Kyoto, Japan



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/14 20:52 by BN7023.

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Wow, great model.

Kotaro-san, that model does a great job of capturing the prototype. I think the lettering looks credible.

I meant to mention in my previous post that the Microscale decal set for CSX Pullman-Standard covered hoppers (HO: 87-1311 and N: 60-1311) includes the data for these 2929 cuft cars.

Dave

drolsen Wrote:
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> Kotaro-san, that model does a great job of
> capturing the prototype. I think the lettering
> looks credible.

Wouldn't the reporting marks have been spread out over three panels instead of two?

TP - You're correct in this case, and in general. In the late '80s and early '90s, CSX stenciled their reporting marks with two digits per panel, but sometime in the mid-'90s, they switched to three digits per panel.

In this case, the prototype (like the vast majority of 2929s) has the three-panel style number:

CSXT 222906:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1452133

I'd guess the modeler saw an example of one of the cars that had the two panel number and went off of that. Here's an example - granted, it's a restencil to cover graffiti, but it shows how they did it on later cars:

CSXT 224200:
http://drolsen.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1236856

Dave