Bluford Shops products are not intended for children under 14.
Now In Stock at Bluford Shops!
Your dealer can get these from Bluford Shops NOW. Quantities are limited and subject to sell out prior to the next update of the website.
Boston & Maine picked up these cars second hand in 1962. They had been built by Bethlehem 13 years before but were still in great shape. B&M moved a great deal of stone for the region’s growing construction business. Therefore, the loads for our B&M run represent gray stone. 73121 single car $21.79; 73123 3-Pack $65.37.
The 1,500 mile Minneapolis & St. Louis ran from the Twin Cities and points in South Dakota, south through central Iowa, then east to connections with the eastern trunk lines in Peoria, Illinois. They presented themselves as a bridge route from the Northwest to the East whilst avoiding the congestion of Chicago. Ironically, coal was their largest single commodity. 73131 single car $21.79
The 10,000+ mile Southern Railway System blanketed the southern Appalachia region and consequently hauled much of the coal produced. Prior to the 1960 adoption of the big block style lettering, Southern lettered their freight equipment with the classic Railroad Roman style. Until the 1980s, Southern used their full name as their reporting marks with large numerals. Southern delivered much of their coal traffic to connecting roads at Southern’s gateways in St.Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Memphis. 73152 2-Pack $43.58.
Those not familiar with Missouri Pacific may believe that it woudn’t be much of a “coal road.” That would be incorrect and MP rostered about 5,000 of these 70-ton offset side hoppers as proof. MP served coal mines in southern Illinois, western Missouri (and adjoining states,) east Texas and eastern Colorado. While many roads advertised their passenger fleets on their boxcars, MP was one of the few to do the same on open top cars like hoppers and gondolas. They began applying this scheme to new cars and repaints around 1949 and continued for the next decade. 73181 single car (orphan from a multi-pack) $21.79.
One of Missouri Pacific ’s several subsidiary lines,
Missouri-Illinois Railroad (known affectionately by locals as the “Mike and Ike ”) served a number of large coal mines in southern Illinois. The Illinois Coal
Basin covers large tracts of southern Illinois and Indiana and western Kentucky and can generate close to 60 million tons annually. That would fill a whopping 2,300 seventy ton hoppers every day! Most of the coal originated on the M-I was delivered to connecting lines for heavy industry across the midwest and far west. 73191 single car $21.79.
Carbon County Railway served two massive coal mines in Utah. Much of the coal went for making coke to feed the furnaces of the steel mill that owned the railroad. However, the output of the mines far exceeded what the mill could use and the extra coal moved to industries in other states and even moved to the coast for export. The CBC freight car fleet consisted of 500 hoppers and a single gondola. Carbon County Railway closed up in 1983. 73211 single car $21.79.
Illinois Central was the principle hauler of coal from the massive Illinois Coal Basin. Coal made up 40% of Illinois Central’s gross tonnage and their “Central” location and high yield made this coal competitive in much of the country. Because of this, IC hoppers could be found nearly anywhere in the lower 48. This particular batch was built in IC’s huge Centralia Car Shops (not too far from the Bluford Shops) in 1966. 73231 single car $21.79; 73233 3-Pack $65.37.
Products bearing Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Illinois, and Minneapolis & St. Louis marks are made under trademark license from Union Pacific Railroad Company.
The Erie served coal mines in Ohio and Pennsylvania. For many years they even owned both anthracite and bituminous coal mining operations in Pennsylvania. Within Erie ’s diverse hopper fleet were these 1,000 70-ton offset side cars. Erie held their own in the busy Chicago -New York corridor against arch competitors PRR, NYC and B&O. Much of the Erie mainline was even double tracked. The Erie merged with the Lackawanna in 1960. 73221 single car $21.79.
