Need help identifying an unusual freight car. (Gondola)

[Missaberoad]

Here's one for the Wtf file 

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3142620

What is it? Is it a gondola, or something mounted to an intermodal car of some sort?
It seems to be a interchangeable freight car since there's Data on the body.

Based on the CP Multimark car and the sporadic use of ACI plates I can date the photo 1968-1971 not 1958 as it is labeled.

As for the purpose  or ownership of the car I'm stumped... 

[wcfn100]

I think I have some other pictures of that car.  If no one else gets to it, I can post something later.  DTDX was what came to mind, but nothing seems to come up for it.

They hauled commodities in large rubber bags. 

edit: remembered, OTDX is what I was thinking of but those are all war emergency gondolas used for the same purpose.

edit again:  That's probably an OTDX car series 2001-2050.   They were 82' between pulling faces and hauled 10 rubberized containers.


Jason

[Bob Bufkin]

Well I'll be damned, there is a prototype for truck mounted couplers.

[Snark45]

A slightly shorter version.

http://freight.railfan.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=otdx1041&o=otdx

[Missaberoad]

Thanks Jason and Snark45!

With that info I was able to find this thread with some more info on the bags.

It's a container car for carrying SEALDBIN(R) containers which are essentially rubber bags used to contain dry bulk commodities for transport. Apparently the concept was big in the '50s and '60s although the registered trademark is still live. There's a photo of OTDX 2014 (a reporting mark of Greenbrier Leasing) empty on Page 56 of "Classic Freight Cars - Vol. 6"

and this photo of a similar car.

Seriously, Robert Wayner's Freight Car Pictorial has a photo of something similar; it's an ACF-built SHPX car designed to carry plastic pellets in inflatable rubber containers, each carrying about 10,000 lbs.  Looks to be an 80'-85' flat with reinforcing side trusses and similar rounded tubs to hold the rubber containers.  Maybe the car in the photo was an early prototype?

This last photo would confirm plastic pellets as the a commodity. (edit: a thread on the SP&S Yahoo group mentions the cars being used for Carbon black as well as "other" bulk commodities) 
http://www.boxcars.us/Boxcars_M_Z/O/pages/image017.html

Edit: this Trainorders thread also mentions Carbon black as the commodity and has a photo of a 2000 series car need to be a subscriber to see tho 
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3602692

Thanks again guys!

[wcfn100]

CELX is another reporting mark that had similar cars.

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2725079

Jason

[Missaberoad]

CELX is another reporting mark that had similar cars.

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2725079

Jason

Again neat! I had never heard of such cars before... 

[Palouse51]

Having been a railfan for many years it's a real treat to see something I have never seen before. Thanks for posting this.

Oh, and the next time someone mentions bathtub gons I will be thinking of these. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Wow, I've been in this hobby a long time and have seen a lot, but I had NEVER seen these before. Crazy!

Also, pellets would explain the "Petrothene" name, and carbon black would explain the originally posted image.

I'm guessing covered hoppers did these in.