Bluford August Announcement

[Bluford Craig]

Hi Guys,

The August announcements from Bluford Shops have now been posted:

www.bluford-shops.com

Craig

[lock4244]

TH&B hoppers... more DT&I 86'ers... nice! Thank-you Craig 

[wm3798]

Those EL cars will have wallets seizing up all over the northeast...

[Mark5]

The DTI cars look familiar - damn temptations!

[Dave V]

Those EL cars will have wallets seizing up all over the northeast...

OMG, yes!  I need me two of those, STAT!

[MichaelWinicki]

Those EL cars will have wallets seizing up all over the northeast...

And how.

I'll be in for a few.

[asarge]

Those DT&I Boxcars will be nice. Georgia RR Hopper, I can count on one hand the different Georgia Railroad rolling stock releases over the years.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I feel bummed that none of the Bluford cars are appropriate for the Boston Line. I seem to be missing some great runs. Any chance pf seeing new tooling any time soon? I could really use some 52' gons, 19K corn syrup cars and ANY Trinity 2 and 4 bay covered hoppers.

[Bluford Craig]

I feel bummed that none of the Bluford cars are appropriate for the Boston Line. I seem to be missing some great runs. Any chance pf seeing new tooling any time soon? I could really use some 52' gons, 19K corn syrup cars and ANY Trinity 2 and 4 bay covered hoppers.

It'll be a little while before we announce another car. We're just getting going on delivering the two new hoppers (next shipment should be here in September.)  We did announce B&M gravel service hoppers (3-bay offset). Would that fit your Boston line?

Andy, I agree, the Georgia Railroad is under-represented. It may not have been terribly long but it served some big population centers and handled quite a slug of traffic in its day. I understand that virtually none of it has been abandoned.

Craig
www.bluford-shops.com

[TiVoPrince]

Boxcars
are both going to be hard to resist...

[71jeep]

Hi Craig...

What are the service dates on the Bessemer cars??

Allen

[asarge]

Andy, I agree, the Georgia Railroad is under-represented. It may not have been terribly long but it served some big population centers and handled quite a slug of traffic in its day. I understand that virtually none of it has been abandoned.

Craig, I think the only part of it that has been abandoned is the Athens branch from Union point to Athens. Coaling Towers at Social Circle and Camak still there and depots at Conyers, Rutledge, Social Circle, Madison, Greensboro and Camak are still there, 3 still used by CSX. For such a short class 1, alot of architecture is still there. And still most of the abandodned line to Athens is visible.

[Bluford Craig]

Hi Craig...

What are the service dates on the Bessemer cars??

Allen

Deliveries began in 1936. By 1961, less than 3% had been lost. By 1969, more than 1,200 were still in service. By 1981 (and probably a bit before), all had been scrapped. We are not doing con-stencils or ACI tags on this run so that would put them before 1970 anyway, unless of course you add those yourself.

Andy, I hadn't heard about the Athens line. I guess CSX had another route to get there.  It is amazing how many coaling towers still stand. IC's Bluford coaling tower is still there and you can see it from the end of my driveway, most of the year.

Craig
www.bluford-shops.com

[71jeep]

Thanks Craig I believe they would feel at home behind a Pennsy steamer you can count me in for some.


Allen....

[ai5629]

First, I want to say I like those Erie Lackawannas for my Conrail coal trains.  In regards to the Bessemer & Lake Erie cars.  I thought that the three bay offset cars were rebuilt into the 3 bay 11 panel rib side cars, class HT47.  I believe this rebuilding occurred at the Greenville, PA shops in the mid 70's (starting around September 1975) and continued until the late 70's.  Rebuilt cars were first repainted black with roman lettering.  This did not last long, and the Bessemer switched to a gothic font which continued until its end in 2003.  This is all based on observation, and no actual inside knowledge.  I remember seeing the rebuilt cars (HT47), and I noticed that the built dates were old.  I also remember the HT47's having an "R" after there number, signifying "Restricted" due to age.  Conrail accepted these cars for interchange, even though they were over 40 years old (usually in coke service from USS Clairton).  This lasted until one of them derailed due to an overheated journal box, at which point they stopped accepting them.  I also remember the HT47's had those unique "winged" friction bearing trucks, which I assume came from the 3 bay offset cars since they had them also.  For what it's worth, TRP's book "Altoona Action" shows a Conrail iron ore train on 3/27/77 at Bennington Curve, PA that consists of Bessemer oxide brown offset side hoppers and some black three bays.  The Bessemer offsets have COTS and ACI labels.  If I wasn't so heavily invested in my 1984 Conrail era, I would switch to June 76 for modeling Conrail based on photos like that.  Thanks.