Load ideas for a 65' mill gon that's not steel or pipe? - Model Railroader Magazine

jimnorton

...In an effort to keep things prototypical I didn't want to load a 65' gon with something a conventional gon would carry. That had me shying away from scrap. While 65' scale feet of scrap would look neat, I just could'nt justify that as I have not seen such trackside....

Jim, I don't know what the weight capacity of those 65' gondolas might have been, but I doubt very much that it would have been high enough to accommodate a full load of scrap, scrap often being one of those loads which is piled in cars.  Even if that capacity were 100 or even 120 tons, a full load of steel scrap would be way too heavy.
If I'm not mistaken, the original 65' gons were intend primarily for structural steel products - H-columns, I-beams, etc., pipe, and perhaps the pole loads mentioned earlier - basically long, but not overly heavy lading.
When steel ingots are shipped, it's normally in regular gondolas, and depending on the size of the ingots, either one at each end over the trucks, or two smaller ones at each end, and again, over the trucks.
I have seen regular 50'/52' gondolas loaded with ingots in excess of 200 tons, and that's in addition to the 20 tons-or-so of scrap and gravel already laying in the bottom of the car.  However, such cars were for in-plant service only - low speeds and short distances on very heavy-duty track.

An appropriate load for your 65' car would be long but not likely too heavy - structural steel or poles, for which they were designed, or bulky (but not overly high) things like pressure vessels for a refinery, or pre-fabbed heavy-duty ductwork for a pollution control facility at some manufacturing plant. 

Wheelset loads are for shorter cars, 41'6" or 52'6" gondolas, and the set available from Tichy is far better looking than a load of discarded plastic wheelsets, and not expensive, either...

I have a pole load in a Proto 52'6" gondola, but it needs an idler flat to handle the overhang...

Here's a couple of tanks for an industry somewhere - not sure what they're for, only that they're passing through from somewhere, on their way to somewhere else...

They were made from plastic rolls for paper, from some type of office machine.  Add some styrene ends and perhaps some lettering to denote its location for assembly when it arrives at its destination...the cost is almost nothing.

Here's a real gondola (looks longer than 52'6", but can't say for sure if it's a 65'-er).  The load is several sheets of steel plate, too wide for a normal gondola or flatcar, so it's propped-up on a fabricated stand, which may or may not be parts required for assembly when it reaches its destination...

Another suitable load, as mentioned earlier, would be the major components of an overhead crane.  Mine travels in 52'6" Proto gons, with the help of idler flatcars...

Wayne