Product Description
Beginning in the late 50s, wood chips went from something to be disposed of to a valuable commodity. Since wood chips are less dense than coal, gravel and other hopper loads, many railroads added high extensions to standard hoppers for this service. The extentions were simple affairs, either rib sided or flat sided that were welded to the top chords of standard hoppers. These N scale models come ready-to-run with knuckle couplers, loads, and are equipped with metal wheels.
Kansas City Southern began converting a group of 300 hoppers for wood chip service in 1967. They were outshopped in the recently adopted white paint scheme. We present them here a few years later after they had received their ACI tags and con-stencils. KCS served the densely forested Ozark Mountains on their way between Kansas City and the Gulf. This made forest products an important part of KCS’s traffic base