Deep Rib Woodchip Cars:

Wood chips are used to make paper, and particle board and sometimes even burned as fuel. Ironically, for decades wood chips were burned as waste by sawmills who had no use for them. It wasn't until the fifties that they really began to be viewed as a commodity. Railroads solved the problem early on by adding high sides to gondolas, or "can-opener-ing" boxcars (cutting the roofs off and welding up the doors) . While this worked for a while (some of them are still in service), there was a need for something stronger and bigger.

Originally developed in the late 60's by Gunderson Brothers, this design class would see service from coast to coast. Gunderson often licensed the design to builders like Magor, Maxon, Ortner, and others. These builders would add their own twists, but the design would stay basically the same. The deep rib gondolas have sides that are slightly sloped to make unloading by rotary dumper a little easier. The ends are also hinged at the top (opening like a big garage door) so the car can be unloaded by tilt table (like a dump truck) or the end can be propped open and the car can be unloaded by skip loader. Although the sides are sloped, the ribs are not, which means the ribs seem to get deeper from the top of the car down. The 100T deep rib woodchip car had the rigidity to withstand being upended on a lift, and emptied through the swinging doors at the end of the car.

With the first version of the cars, built for the Northern Pacific, there was only one end door, with a high mounted brake wheel occupying the other end. This necessitated having the cars in the correct orientation for switching. When the UP ordered cars, Gunderson Brothers was asked to have the cars open from both ends. Union Pacific ordered many of the cars, some with ratchet brake handles and some with a side-mounted brake wheel. In the southwest and the southeast, similar designs were in use for the Western Pacific, the Southern, the CSX, and others.

Not all of the cars were in railroad service, as several paper manufacturers owned their own cars.The models feature all of the appropriate end detail including top hinges on both ends. The brake "wheel" on most releases is actually a ratchet arm rather than the traditional wheel although in some instances (such as our second Union Pacific run) a wheel is used. These cars come with the appropriate 100 ton Roller Bearing trucks. The immense size of these cars make them a real head turner when mixed into a normal freight train.

Most of these cars are still in use. Some of them have been sold or repainted into new owner schemes. The Northern Pacific cars are still working on the BN- some in their original paint, some with the road numbers painted out and repainted for BN, some fully repainted into Cascade Green. Also, NP cars have been sold to several other roads, like the D&NE who painted out the NP markings apparently with a roller!

These sturdy steel cars will be joining their more modern counterparts serving the paper manufacturers and woodchip burners well into the future. In the meantime, more uses for these large cars are coming up all the time. Out of Los Angeles, you regularly see these cars carrying shredded aluminum up to a location in Montana, for an as yet undetermined use. They are also used in recycling service.

One thing you will never see is one of these cars loaded for coal. While the proverbial "pound of feathers vs. pound of lead weighs the same, they don't take up the same space. If one were to fill one of these cars with coal, you would likely never be able to move it! 

The deluxe innovations Gunderson Deep Rib 100T Woodchip Car accurately represents the prototype with ribs that are deeper at the bottom than they are at the top. MUCH deeper! In fact, we were stymied for months on how to actually print this car. Eventually, we came up with a now patented methodology for getting ink onto these cars to accurately represent the prototype. The cars come with a sprue of crossbraces for the top that allow you to add them if you are running empty. As with all deluxe products, the braces are molded in a color that is most useful for the model as built. The underside of the car continues the ribbing apparent on the sides, and the brake gear reversing lever actually protrudes from the side of the car, as it does on the prototype.

If one were to wish to model the end doors as opening, they come as a separate piece to facilitate this. Cutting down the ends, and making an opening door requires one extra set of door molding, which are available from the deluxe factory. There are two end variations available, one for the early Northern Pacific prototype, and one for the standard prototype. The NP version carries the High Mounted brake wheel on a fixed end, and the standard version carries end doors on both ends. The NP sides are clear of all brake hardware, and the standard version has a side mounted ratcheting handle. In addition, we have produced the UP side mounted brake wheel version, which was built at the request of the UP car foreman. NP also had this version of the car, and several are still around, some even repainted for BN!