Atlas HO pulpwood flatcars

[decapodman]

The Atlas pulpwood cars look just perfect for my planned industrial layout featuring a paper mill. Can anyone tell when approximately the prototypes were introduced?

[dknelson]

I suspect in one way or another these go back to at least the 1940s perhaps before.
Interestingly, at places that loaded pulpwood cars they had a kind of air powered set of steel plates on either side of the track that would pu***ogether to even out the load -- that is, the crew could load the logs (sideways) rather casually and then this set of steel plates would be pushed by air on both sides of the car and even things out. It would make an interesting model. Am I making myself clear as to what this looks like?
Dave Nelson

[orsonroy]

The Atlas pulpwood cars are a mid-1950s prototype. Before about 1950, there was no such thing as dedicated pulpwood cars. Up through the 1980s at least, most pulpwood was hauled in plain old gondolas. Pulpwood cars, which facilitate faster and easier loading and unloading, were built as a result of labor becoming more expensive than new freight cars.

[decapodman]

dknelson & orsonroy,

Thank you both for your replies!

dknelson: I believe I understand how the pneumatic pusher plates work and what they might look like, now I'm just wondering if I could somehow get a pulpwood loading siding in the track plan......Space problems, you know. Or maybe build a working model of the loading track equipment on a module?

orsonroy: So the cars are 1950s prototypes and I'm planning a transition era layout.... Glad to get the facts. Ordered a pair after reading your reply.

JJ aka decapodman