Covered Hoppers

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

I find it hard to believe that a railroad reputed to be as progressive as 
the Southern would resort to such a backward, labor-intensive practice as to 
sand locomotives out of 50-pound paper bags, except at the smallest of 
servicing points.  With dry sand weighing about 100 pounds/cu ft, it would 
take 36 of those bags to fill the 18 cu. ft. capacity sand boxes on a GP-9 
road switcher (or 144 bags to fill the 72 cu. ft. boxes on a SD-45).

According to drawings in the NWHS archives, as early as 1957 the N & W was 
hauling dry sand in large tanks mounted on gondola cars and arranged such 
that the tanks could be pressurized with air from a source at the unloading 
spot.  The dry sand would be blown into the elevated storage tanks where it 
could be dispensed by gravity into the locomotive sand boxes untouched by 
human hands.

As recently as 1976, the N & W had 66 covered hopper cars specially modified 
for dry sand service according to an N & W Equipment Guide book of that 
date.

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 9:06 PM
Subject: Covered Hoppers


If I may offer a correction to the

> writer,  contrary to  popular belief that locomotive sand was  moved  in

> covered

> hoppers, on the Southern Railway, and later Norfolk Southern, we  received

> locomotive sand in box cars in 50 lb.  paper bags of reinforced paper. The

> sand

> car was placed on the house track at the platform, and the local fuel 

> dealer

> who had the contract to fuel and sand the locomotives used the bags of 

> sand

> out of the car as needed.   We kept   five  GP-38's  on the Gainesville

> yard in

> order to meet the needs of   24/7   switching duties plus putting  three 

> local

> freights to work daily, some of which needed two units to handle the 

> tonnage.

> Engine sand placed in paper bags and placed in box cars was protected from

> humidity and wet wather and stayed as dry as a powder house.    Sand had 

> to

> be kept dry as at outlying terminals sand  is pumped  through a rubber 

> hose

> the

> height of the locomotive to the sanding nozzle using air pressure from the 

> air

> pumps on the locomotive.   The slightest bit of moisture would screw up 

> this

> process.  If truth be known, I would wager that a good deal of  N&W sand

> made it's way to the sandhouse in paper bags loaded in box cars   that 

> were

> in assigned service to transport company  material, namely, sand.   . 

> Bill Sellers.

>

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