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John et al It sounds like your issue is the end/side sills being too "fat"; they also don't slope upward and inward as per the 50 ton image link below. Take heart there is a prototype or at least an explanation for the AM car. The time frame for these cars is long. The 1943 car builders cyclopedia (Newton Gregg reprint #70) shows an AAR standard 70 ton 3 (and 4) bay hopper plan from 1935 lasted well into 1960's although not always the same cars as hoppers wear rapidly. Most coal railroads caught on a little more slowly or not at all with offset sides, but ATSF had a series made in 1936 also shown in the reprint with "fat" end sills built by ACF. 70 ton 3 bay offset side hoppers first came into use on the C&O in 1946 and before that C&O favored the 50 ton variety as pictured here: http://www.cohs.org/repository/Archives/cohs/web/cohs-8408.jpg As far as I know the AAR standard cars did not have such end sills and the C&O used mainly its own or modified designs anyway -- big dog with 26,000 hoppers calls the shots. On the other hand Pere Marquette had three bay offset hoppers from 1935 as pictured here: http://www.cohs.org/repository/Archives/cohs/web/cohs-8886.jpg Note that these PM cars do have the "fat" side sills at the ends (although they taper up some) and the external lap plates over ribs 1, 3, 8 and 10. They were made by Standard Steel Car at Butler PA. It is likely that the Bessemer AL plant was producing the same design in the South. Anyway the AM model highly resembles these cars IMHO. Hope this helps. Chris Rooney [email protected] --
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- {S-Scale List} Re: AM 3-Bay Hopper Issue / Question JCRooney
