I hope someone can help me identify the use of a car I just saw. The car is similar in shape to a 50' Hi-Cube, but it has arched ends and no roof. In place of the roof is a heavy tarpaulin stretched from end-to-end and down about 5' on the sides, forming the same arched shape as the ends. The car is painted dark blue similar to the old B&O blue, darker than CSX blue. Its reporting marks are "AEX" (missed the number). I assume the cargo is loaded and retrieved from overhead ... but what is the cargo?
AEX is the reporting marks for The Andersons Co., a large grain outfit based in Maumee, Ohio. I'd guess the car you saw might have been carrying grain or some other agricultural product, unless it was a special car in their lease fleet; then it's anybody's guess . The Andersons has a website: http://www.andersonsinc.com/
I see similar cars coming through Sparks NV. They are converted 50'-6" box cars and the reporting marks are NRLX. They have the doors removed and new sides and braces to replace them and tarps on the roof. Last time I did a trace, they listed peanuts as the cargo. I haven't had a chance to photograph them yet or check to see if the load is something else. They do make a nice car for a change of pace in the normal freight train. Greg Elems
Andersons is sure a diversified company. I didn't see anything on their website that resembled the car I saw, but I'm sure one of their divisions probably produced it as a modification of somebody else's trade-in. Thanks I wonder why they wouldn't use existing covered hoppers to haul peanuts, etc., instead of inventing their own design .... I guess that's why I'm not a rich, employed, famous railroad car design engineer. [ 03 March 2002, 02:32: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
Sounds like a quick and dirty woodchip hopper. I would think Peanuts would need protection from the weather, though I'm not sure. Another possibility might be sugar beets, which seems more likley given the cars ownership. Be interesting to see if we get an answer.
I am not quite sure that this will be of help but Greg mentioned the reporting marks NRLX. These are marks for Bombardier Leasing Company (The aerospace/rail contractor that builds Acela) They build a lot of strange cars including some with solid sliding roofs and even sliding sides. They describe a "wagon" on their site as an "expandable roof" wagon which has a kind of tarpulin that is being described above. So maybe it is not actually a cover but an expandable roof so one could squeeze a little extra into the car Still, I haven't seen one in person yet. <img src=http://www.trainboard.com/sigbreak.gif> Russ
