Now that I have got back in to the hobby, it appears there is a huge shortage of what I need. Bethgon coal hoppers. I was lucky enough to pick up a Kato 8 pack on eBay. I found some black 70 toners at a random small hobby shop. Those are a stretch to use prototypically. I've got 10 conrail bethgons. Those can be mixed in every now and then. But I need more CSX. I have not seen the Athearn black ones for sale, either online or on eBay. What gives? Is CSX just not that popular compared to UP and BNSF?
It may be just the opposite. CSX is popular, thus product doesn't hang around the shops and people that do have it, aren't willing to let go of it. Atlas does some variation of CSXT 100T's in the Trainman line every release it seems and they don't last in our shop. Keep an eye on Atlas, wait for the next group and pounce. Just be prepared to renumber if that sort of thing bothers you. I see as many 100T hoppers as anything around the midwest. Athearn hasn't produced anything in 2 years due to China issues so all you will find there is old stock. The last thing they produced was a series of the 70T 3 bays converted to wood chip service. Kato is stuck in the west so their CSX releases are few and far between. It took me about 4 years to amass a good 50's B&O/C&O hopper collection, now I have over 250 of them. Sometimes its about patients and the hunt. Model railroading is generally not an instant gratification hobby.
Atlas never made 100Ton hoppers in the CSX scheme they did however make the 90Ton CSX hoppers in black that you can find on ebay also you might wanna check out BLW they have LBF Johnstown coal porters in the gray CSX scheme on sale still (I got about fourteen of these and they are super detailed and look great on any layout).
Check your private messages for links to dealers (that can't be mentioned publicly, here) showing Kato CSX Bethgon hopper sets in stock.
I know how you feel. As a NS fan I have sort of the same problem, the cars have been made just hard to find. My problem besides that is the coal trains of 4 or 5 years ago are very different from the trains I see now due to retirements or new cars.
Thanks all! Picked up another Kato 8 pack. I really want the black ones but those have proven impossible to locate.
FYI the only difference between a 90T and 100T hopper is the roller bearings in the trucks. The car Atlas makes is based off a design that was originally a 90T hopper, but the journals were later upgraded to 100T. Also, most of the cars Atlas has released have capacity data for 100T cars, not 90T.
You have to be patient I have tons of CSX coal hoppers form the Athearn Alumitator (they look like chrome), LBF confederate gray coal porters to Athearn black coal porters and Atlas 90T hoppers. But it took me years to hunt them all down the Atheran Aluminators are probably the hardest to find I have three five packs, Athearn was supposed to re-relese some of these (the black and aluminum) but I guess they canceled them. Just check ebay periodically and you will eventually find them E&C shops also made some black CSX coal porters. They are hard to find but you have to be patient.
FYI FVM will be releasing some CEFX coal hoppers. I see NS pull these around where I live all the time.
They have been plenty of CSX hoppers made. Kato has made 24 numbers in three 8 car pack of there great bethgon coalpotters in silver. Deluxe has made a bunch of them in Conrail/NYC, the black and the grey. E&C/LBF/Huberts have made them in black, grey and silver. Athearn has made about 15 numbers each in both the black and the grey, plus 15 of there 40' ribside. They have 15 more of the silver coming soon. Atlas has made a bunch of there 90T hoppers. Trainwork has done 24 numbers of there 4 bay hopper with 24 more coming soon. Also not a coal hopper but MT has done two of the Ortner hoppers for CSX.
Not to mention Chessie System in 2 numbers, and Conrail in 2 numbers, which depending on your timeframe can be mixed in as in, or renumbered/lettered
Actually, 95-Present. About the time the first AC44s appeared, and the last of Chessie paint disappeared. I might go back as early as 88 at some point. I was 7 when we moved to MD that year. I'm building up my stock. Being such a small layout I'm building, I can switch out eras very easily. So I've got 95-Present covered engine-wise.
Athearn just announced more coalporters, so that should be five new 5-packs if my count is correct correct...plus a single. http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/062613/18_N_Coalporter_062513.pdf Brian
I wonder why they insist on the Aluminators. If I am not mistaken, that is what they mean by silver, and there were only 200 made. It would be nice if they ran more of the Black.
Athearn is not making Aluminators. These are bethgons, E&C/LBF are the only ones who have made Aluminators.
They are not Aluminators Sean, they're aluminum bodied coalporters in the #range 379700-379999 http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1368697 . So although 50% more than what you said, not very much at only 300 units(2.2% of coalporters) compared to the black ones. Those were in the #range 380000-389499(9500 units(69.8%)) http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1104300 and should be made again, but one has to wonder why manufacturers do what they do. There's also the Confederate Grey series in the #range 390000-393799 (3800 units(27.9%)) http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1798976that they could do, although LBF and Deluxe both did these too. These were the cars bought/rebuilt by CSX before the Conrail merger, so there's those cars too, but I'm not familiar with those. Of the 24 silver cars Kato has done, the 15 by Athearn and the 12 from E&C(LBF) I think there were two duplicates between the three companies' cars, for a total of 49 unique numbers. Trevor D.
