Wanted to know, from the experts out there, how prototypical it would be to use 2 Bay ACF or PS-2 covered hoppers for grain during the late steam era(late 40's early 50's). I know they used ACF and a few PS-2 during this time, but were they only used for sand and cement until the PS-2 started were enlarged and being made with three bays?
Thanks!
Replies sorted oldest to newest
The Pullman-Standard PS-2-CD 4427 Cu. Ft. Capy. 3-bay covered hoppers are a post 1960 design that is based on smaller 1950's 2-bay and 3-bay covered hoppers.
The ACF Center Flow 2-Bay Covered Hoppers that Lionel and MTH produce are Post-1965 designs.
If you want to use covered hoppers for grain in the 1950's then you should get the Atlas O Train Man PS-2 3-bay covered hoppers.
Andrew
The ACF 70-Ton 2-Bay Covered Hoppers that Atlas O and Weaver Models produce would most likely be used for materials like sand and concrete.
40' Box Cars were still used often for grain loading, especially if it was a small branch line.
The ACF Center Flow 3-Bay and 6-Bay Cylindrical Hoppers that Lionel and Atlas O produced were built between 1961-1965.
Andrew
Thanks Andrew. I really like the look of the shorter 2bay covered hoppers and was looking for a way to involve them on my RR, which has steam and early diesel.
Looks like I have to go with Cement Factory or Kiln. Unfortunately, locating a (non expensive brass) cement plant/concrete factory/or distribution facility in O scale is really difficult.
If they hauled sand, the sand would be used at a casting foundry.
Andrew
Sand could be used a lot of places. I railfanned the W&W in Virginia near DC once and their business was hauling sand from a mine/tipple to a CSX interchange. The sand was the right stuff for making glass and was going to glass factories.
vbkostur
You have received good advice on hopper car types, their period of use and the types of products that they handled. In the early 50s you would have 70 ton two bay covered hoppers like the ACF and PS-2 hauling dense products like sand and cement to locomotive service facilities, glass factories, foundries and cement plants. The 70 ton Air Slide was introduce in 1953 and was used for products including flour and sugar. They would be loaded at mills and would be destined for packaging plants or commercial bakeries. The 70 ton three bay PS-2s as modeled by Atlas in their Trainman line came into use in the late 50s for grain service.
If you are interested in reading more about the covered hoppers available in O scale and how they were used you may want to look at the O Scale Freight Car Guide to 70 ton Covered Hoppers.
https://ogrforum.com/t...-ton-covered-hoppers
And the O Scale Freight Car Guide to 100 ton Covered Hoppers.
https://ogrforum.com/t...-ton-covered-hoppers
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
