65’ MILL GONDOLAS
Sixty-five foot gondolas were introduced around 1930 for the steel mill trade. To prevent overloading, they were built with narrow bodies to provide a similar cubic capacity as their shorter brethren. The dimensions of Pennsy’s G26 and G27 classes provide a comparison:
G26: length-65’6”, width-7’7”, capacity-1,738 cubic feet
G27: length-52’6”, width-9’6”, capacity- 1,745 cubic feet.
Most 65’ gondolas were equipped with drop ends and twenty-panel fishbelly sides, though some were built with 18, 22 or 26 side panels. Nearly all 65’ gondolas carried the mechanical designation of GB: “A car with fixed sides, fixed or drop ends and solid bottom, suitable for mill trade.” The railroads that served the steel industry had large fleets of 65’ gondolas, nearly every road had a few for hauling long commodities such as logs.
PRR G26 GONDOLAS
EASTERN SEABOARD MODELS
Pennsylvania Railroad’s 1,700 car fleet of G26 gondolas were the largest fleet of 65’ gondolas. Like the AAR standard, the G26 had twenty side panels, but differed visually in having all but the two end ribs over the fishbelly end at floor level. In 1941, Pennsy built 700 G26a gondolas which had three ribs extend to the bottom of the fishbelly. In 1966, 300 G26 and G26a gondolas were rebuilt as G26c in which all seven center ribs extended to the bottom of the fishbelly.
Eastern Seaboard Models offers an N scale model of all three variations of the G26 gondola. They are nicely detailed, and feature body-mounted couplers which according to the package label will not operate on curves of less than 12-1/2” radius. The large fleet would make a Pennsy G25 or G26a appropriate for any layout set between 1930 and 1970. However, few cars were repainted into Penn Central, and only two Conrail cars appear in the July, 1981 Equipment Register. The chart below lists each variation separately catalog numbers of Athearn and Micro-Trains gondolas representing the G26 are included:
