Car Shop Report / Cargill Covered Hoppers

 Greetings All,

Car Shop Report / Cargill Covered Hoppers

In mid June 2024 the NYCTL purchasing department acquired six used Cargill covered hoppers with Kadee #5 couplers and Atlas 36'' metal wheelsets from an online HO scale group member for $25.00 with free shipping. Four are yellow Pullman Standard PS-2 4740 covered hoppers and two are gray PS 4427 covered hoppers

A separate purchase from the same seller for five Athearn BB gold flywheel motors are shown below the covered hoppers and will be reported on in a future post.

Prototype Info

Cargill

Cargill was founded in 1865 as a single grain warehouse in Iowa, when William Wallace (W. W.) Cargill leaves his family home in Janesville, Wisconsin and buys his first grain flat house in the railroad town of Conover, Iowa. W. W. will be joined by two of his younger brothers, Sam and Sylvester, and together they expand the business that will one day revolutionize the way commodities are moved.

"Cargill grain elevator and terminal" by No machine-readable author provided. Kelly Martin assumed (based on copyright claims). is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/?ref=openverse.

W. W. Cargill follows the expansion of the railroads west, erecting his first elevator and setting up headquarters in Albert Lea, Minnesota. With new features like conveyor systems and multiple floors, elevators offer farmers new flexibility in storing and selling their crops. In 1875, W. W. moves the Cargill family and headquarters to regional commerce hub of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

"Cargill Superior grain elevator" by amerune is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

As the railroads continue to expand, the brothers, now including James, experiment with vertical integration, founding a farm and buying more grain elevators. By pairing novel storage capabilities with emerging transportation possibilities, they plant the seeds for what Cargill will become: a connector across the global supply chain helping their customers achieve sustainable growth

"Brad Freden en Schreiber y Cargill" by U.S. Embassy Montevideo is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.

Pullman Standard

During the 1960s, railcar builders experimented with covered hopper designs to satisfy the evolving needs of shippers as they moved away from forty-foot box cars to bulk transport railcars. Pullman’s PS-2 design evolution continued in 1966 when the “Low Side” 4427 was replaced with the “High Side” version. The 4427 “High Side” was visually distinctive with its high slope bays and center of gravity, which sped the unloading process of bulk commodities. The “High Side” 4427 included 13 exterior side posts, similar to its sister car design, the PS-2 4740, which had 16 side posts. Both designs were introduced in 1966, and 4427 “High Side” production ended in 1971 after delivery of approximately 12,000 cars.

"ATSF 305120; Class GA-151, 49' Covered 3 Bay Center Flow Hopper Car; Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Co., 1965; Freight Car; September 1983" by San Diego Model Railroad Museum is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=openverse.

The Pullman-Standard PS-2CD 4740 cubic foot covered hopper was produced between 1966 and 1972, and remains in active service today throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. One of the most distinctive Pullman covered hoppers, this common 100-ton car is used in grain, fertilizer, and other bulk services. With more than 10,000 prototypes placed into service

"Covered Hopper, Rock Island" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.

TLDX 7615 and TLDX 7410 look to be factory painted Athearn BB models of the Pullman Standard PS-2 4740 16 post covered hoppers. All the Cargill cars came lightly weathered which was nice. The TLDX reporting marks are for Pullman Transport Leasing. PS delivered 330 of these cars to Cargill in 1967 numbered 7227-7556. 

TLCX 30591 and TLCX 30642 are custom painted ex B&O Athearn BB models. The TLCX reporting marks are also for Pullman Transport Leasing. 

TLDX 2506 and TLDX 2514 are Walthers models in an earlier paint scheme. Pullman Standard delivered twenty five of these PS 4427 low side cars to Cargill in 1963-1964. 

The new Cargill covered hoppers join TLDX 7241 that is used in PCCM service.

Testing the cars against the Kadee Height gauge I found they were just a bit low for use on the layout. I added some Kadee red and gray washers to the bolsters and inside the coupler boxes as needed to  eliminate the vertical coupler slop and raise the cars slightly.

The Kadee 36" metal wheels are ribbed back which were outlawed for interchange during the time frame of these models. According to research by Bob Cosgrove featured in the NYCHS Headlight magazine; As of January 1st, 1958 cast iron wheels were banned from new and rebuilt cars, From January 1st, 1964 no new cast iron wheels were allowed on existing cars, and from January 1st, 1968 all cast iron wheels were banned from interchange.

No worries and no additional costs incurred to correct that using the Proto 2000 36" metal wheelsets from some blue box HW models.

The seven Cargill covered hoppers are now ready for movement from Terminal Yard to the Cargill Facility in Empire City.

The Cargill covered hoppers make their first call at the Empire City Cargill Facility.

The covered hoppers get shoved into the Cargill siding.

An aerial view of the Cargill string of hoppers being spotted at their facility. 

A grain elevator in an urban setting offers challenges with vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

TLDX 2506 looking good as it temporarily blocks the vehicle entrance to Gervais Pipe & Fitting while the thru traffic is able to flow freely.

Final Thoughts and Comments

To quote the Godfather, Don Corleone, the six cars with metal wheelsets and Kadee couplers for $25.00 total was an offer I couldn't refuse!!! Having a Cargill plant on the layout cemented the deal for me and I am more than happy to add them to the fleet.

Additional Links

Cargill History

TLDX 7419 Houston, Texas. June 04, 1974.

TLDX 7295 Pullman Standard Photo 1967

TLDX 2506 Pullman Standard Photo 1964

TLDX 2514 Pullman Standard Photo 1964

Thanks for reading!!!

See you soon!!!