This month, Bluford Shops is happy to announce our third group of N scale Factory Dented 52’6” Mill Gondolas. As with earlier runs,
these models feature die cast floors for superior tracking and plastic sides, ends, draft gear, body bolsters and additional brake
gear. The cars come standard with our metal wheels and magnetically operating knuckle couplers.
The Lightly Dented versions
have multiple deflections in the side sheets above the floor line. The Medium Dented versions have the side sheets visibly puffed
outward between the rivet lines as countless small dings to the inside faces accumulated and stretched the sheets into rough domes.
The Heavily Dented versions also have the puffed out panels but to a greater extent – plus many of the ribs have also been deflected
outward. The concave dent detail on the inside faces matches the convex outside faces.
Car ends and brake equipment vary based
on prototype. Interiors have a rust effect finish. Each road name will be available in 3 or 6 road numbers – 1 or 2 each of lightly
dented, medium dented and heavily dented versions. Minimum Radius: 9.75”. MSRP is $39.95 each. Pre-orders will remain open at
least until November 25. Delivery is expected in early autumn, 2026.
Ann Arbor received this group of gons in 1969 from parent DT&I. They had already been reconditioned with the drop ends welded
shut and a new Ajax hand brake housing bolted to the end (replacing the lever style brake.) The brake chain was routed through a hole
cut in the top of the end sill.
52190 Ann Arbor lightly dented #AA 2029 $39.95
52194 Ann Arbor medium dented #AA 2066 $39.95
52197 Ann Arbor heavily dented #AA 2090 $39.95
Although AOK reporting marks are officially assigned to shortline Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad, they leased the reporting marks to Greenbrier
Leasing and their successors. This is done because there are differences in how cars with railroad reporting marks and cars with private
owner reporting marks (which end in X) are billed for movement when empty. These cars with fixed Dreadnaught ends are depicted as
they appear in the current conspicuity stripe era.
52200 AOK lightly dented #AOK 30042 $39.95
52204 AOK medium dented #AOK 30049 $39.95
52207 AOK heavily dented #AOK 30043 $39.95
These Bessemer & Lake Erie mill gons also have had their drop ends welded closed and a new Ajax hand brake housing bolted to the
end. The demand for drop end cars never approached the supply and welding them closed reduced the number of mechanical failures
that could take the car out of service.
52210 Bessemer & Lake Erie lightly dented #B&LE 15110 $39.95
52211 Bessemer & Lake Erie lightly dented #B&LE 15125 $39.95
52214 Bessemer & Lake Erie medium dented #B&LE 15116 $39.95
52215 Bessemer &
Lake Erie medium dented #B&LE 15179 $39.95
52217 Bessemer & Lake Erie heavily dented #B&LE 15162 $39.95
52218 Bessemer & Lake Erie heavily dented #B&LE 15151 $39.95
Buffalo & Pittsburgh was launched in 1988 to link Buffalo with the greater Pittsburgh area plus branches totaling 729 miles (a
bit bigger than Jersey Central in their day.) BPRR picked up these fixed end gons on the second hand market. Note the first two road
numbers have a black patch under the road number while on the third road number, it’s brown.
52220 Buffalo & Pittsburgh lightly dented #BPRR 559353 $39.95
52224 Buffalo & Pittsburgh medium dented #BPRR 565821 $39.95
52227 Buffalo & Pittsburgh heavily dented #BPRR 566468 $39.95
For most of its history, Birmingham Southern was owned by United States Steel. It served as a terminal and switching line in the steel
producing region around Birmingham, Alabama so a substantial fleet of mill gons (fixed end in this case) was a given. BS was acquired
by the Watco shortline group in 2011 and the name was changed to Birmingham Terminal.
52230 Birmingham Southern lightly
dented #BS 5054 $39.95
52231 Birmingham Southern lightly dented #BS 5019 $39.95
52234 Birmingham Southern medium dented #BS 5091 $39.95
52235 Birmingham Southern medium
dented #BS 5023 $39.95
52237 Birmingham Southern heavily dented #BS 5042 $39.95
52238 Birmingham Southern heavily dented #BS 5077 $39.95
Chesapeake & Ohio obtained this group of mill gons when they acquired Pere Marquette in 1947. After a decade of C&O service,
they began to receive this paint scheme with its distinctive stripes. The car’s Dreadnaught drop ends were retained along with their
lever style hand brakes.
52240 Chesapeake & Ohio stripes lightly dented #C&O 218879 $39.95
52241 Chesapeake & Ohio stripes lightly dented #C&O 218931 $39.95
52244 Chesapeake & Ohio stripes medium dented #C&O 218860 $39.95
52245 Chesapeake
& Ohio stripes medium dented #C&O 218917 $39.95
52247 Chesapeake & Ohio stripes heavily dented #C&O 218866 $39.95
52248 Chesapeake
& Ohio stripes heavily dented #C&O 218942 $39.95
Chicago & Eastern Illinois received this group of gondolas from Thrall in 1966. Props to C&EI for applying a “billboard” paint
scheme to these fixed end mill gons. It also illustrates C&EI’s comical disregard for AAR size standards for reporting marks and
road numbers. Like the C&EI itself, this fleet was later divided between MP subsidiary C&EI and Louisville & Nashville.
52250 Chicago & Eastern Illinois lightly dented #C&EI 81076 $39.95
52251 Chicago & Eastern Illinois lightly dented #C&EI 81123 $39.95
52254 Chicago & Eastern Illinois medium dented #C&EI 81168 $39.95
52255 Chicago &
Eastern Illinois medium dented #C&EI 81092 $39.95
52257 Chicago & Eastern Illinois heavily dented #C&EI 81155 $39.95
52258 Chicago
& Eastern Illinois heavily dented #C&EI 81107 $39.95
This second version of Conrail cars follows later painting standards. The placement of the road number and dimensional data is different.
An updated (in 1983) version of the consolidated stencil has been applied and the Conrail logo is larger and has the CONRAIL above
the logo. The trucks are now black and this group uses PS style fixed ends to replace the original drop ends.
52260 Conrail version 2 lightly dented # CR 531866 $39.95
52261 Conrail version 2 lightly dented # CR 531859 $39.95
52264 Conrail version 2 medium dented # CR 531871 $39.95
52265 Conrail version 2 medium dented
# CR 531806 $39.95
52267 Conrail version 2 heavily dented # CR 531865 $39.95
52268 Conrail version 2 heavily
dented # CR 531868 $39.95
Many think of the Elgin Joliet & Eastern as a terminal road hosting transfer runs between Chicago’s myriad of Class One roads.
In fact, the lion’s share of EJ&E business came from the huge US Steel complex on the eastern end of the line. In fact USS owned
EJ&E for most of its history. Like the B&LE and AA cars, this EJ&E fleet also had their drop ends welded shut with the
new brake housings bolted to the B-end.
52270 Elgin Joliet & Eastern lightly dented #EJE 83186 $39.95
52271 Elgin Joliet & Eastern lightly dented #EJE 84032 $39.95
55274 Elgin Joliet & Eastern medium dented #EJE 84092 $39.95
55275 Elgin Joliet &
Eastern medium dented #EJE 84085 $39.95
55277 Elgin Joliet & Eastern heavily dented #EJE 83413 $39.95
55278 Elgin Joliet &
Eastern heavily dented #EJE 84168 $39.95
Maine Central was not a railroad one would identify with the steel industry but they did have enough gon-appropriate loads such as
scrap, poles, gravel and the like to warrant acquiring this group of cars. These cars have fixed Dreadnaught ends and Ajax IP80 brake
wheels.
52280 Maine Central lightly dented #MEC 12103 $39.95
52284 Maine Central medium dented #MEC 12122 $39.95
52287 Maine Central heavily dented #MEC 12114 $39.95
Penn Central inherited this fleet of mill gondolas from New York Central. While PC replaced the ends of many of their older mill gons,
this particular group retained their drop ends and lever hand brakes. Cars in this paint scheme survived well into the Conrail era.
52290 Penn Central lightly dented #PC 537889 $39.95
52291 Penn Central lightly dented #PC 537918 $39.95
52294 Penn Central medium dented #PC 537892 $39.95
52295 Penn Central medium dented #PC 537901 $39.95
52297 Penn Central heavily dented #PC 537897 $39.95
52298 Penn Central heavily dented #PC
537905 $39.95
This run of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie gons is depicted in their “as delivered” paint scheme appearing late in 1951 from Bethlehem.
They had Dreadnaught drop ends with lever hand brakes. With this delivery, P&LE had more than 10,000 gondolas, an astonishing
number for a 233 mile regional railroad. If they all returned home at once, they would have 43 gons on every mile of track!
52300 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie as built lightly dented #P&LE 11296 $39.95
52301 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
as built lightly dented #P&LE 11478 $39.95
52304 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie as built medium dented #P&LE 11003 $39.95
52305 Pittsburgh
& Lake Erie as built medium dented #P&LE 11271 $39.95
52307 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie as built heavily dented #P&LE 11364 $39.95
52308 Pittsburgh
& Lake Erie as built heavily dented #P&LE 11089 $39.95
Pittsburgh & West Virginia was a small but vital bridge line connecting Nickel Plate’s former W&LE in the west, through Pittsburgh,
to a connection with the Western Maryland in the east. These lines plus Reading and others were referred to as the Alphabet Route
between the Midwest and east coast. P&WV received this fleet of fixed end gons from Pullman Standard in 1957. P&WV specified
Greenville style ribs but PS style ends – a combination reflected on these models.
52310 Pittsburgh & West Virginia
lightly dented #P&WV 7350 $39.95
52311 Pittsburgh & West Virginia lightly dented #P&WV 7344 $39.95
52314 Pittsburgh & West Virginia medium dented #P&WV 7392 $39.95
52315 Pittsburgh
& West Virginia medium dented #P&WV 7307 $39.95
52317 Pittsburgh & West Virginia heavily dented #P&WV 7331 $39.95
52318 Pittsburgh
& West Virginia heavily dented #P&WV 7376 $39.95