"Battleship" gons

[NW Mailing List]

So that means "battleship gon" is the wrong term for both Vgn and N&W heavy
gons. Anyway, neither existed in 1909, so "battleship" was a reference to
something else. All my life I have been thinking they were "battleship
gons," and recently I have learned that the railroaders did not use that
term. Live and learn!   Jim Nichols

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Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 10:24 AM
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Subject: RE: "Battleship" gons

Pocahontas crews referred to the N&W 120-ton gons as "Titanics" and the
trainmen I've talked with were unaware of the term "Battleship" regarding
any coal cars.

Grant Carpenter


> The Hinton News (?) newspaper in 1905 or 1906 referred to a string of the

> C&O's new 50-ton steel hopper cars coming into the yard as "Battleships"

> and that they had to be segregated from their wooden cars to avoid

> destroying their wooden FB and HB gondola cars.

>

> Al Kresse

>

> > Bluefield Daily Telegraph

> > December 19, 1909

> > 

> > IN CITY AND COALFIELD

> > ------

> > Three Cars Overturned

> >     Three battleship*(1) coal cars were overturned yesterday afternoon

at Ruth*(2) and Train No. 10 had to take the high grade*(3) at that point
in order to make Bluefield on time.  The wreck was cleared away by night.