Chutton01,
I just found something, that may be of help,for you,with a lot of info. I did a Google search for: Ortner 100 ton open Aggregate car and got all kinds of hits and pics. also who has them. Give it a shot,if you like.
Cheers,
Frank
What I found on that link, were what they called, Ortner 100 ton 40ft hopper,but it was actually 43 ft from end to end,they had a 11/2 platform on each end. They did not look at all,like the pic. you show. It had a Southern, name and herald on it and they show in stock. Maybe, in the search,at the top of that link,type in Ortner 100 ton Hopper and see if it comes up.
I'm going to sort of reply to myself, as apparently very few people are interested in Modern Day aggregate hoppers .
Anyway, Frank's link to the on-line Hobby shop mentioned both the Walthers Ortner 40ft Aggregate car...and the former MDC now-Athearn 5 Bay Ortner Hopper. Hmm, I happen to have one of those MDC cars stored away - so I dragged it out, and with the help of a kitchen table, some flex track, and white paper, have uploaded a eBay quality photo:
Compared with our prototype friend TRIX 75339, there are a few differences in detail (understandable as a) the TRIX has clearly been rebuilt, and b) the 5 Bay SMEX is a MDC model from the 1980s - couldn't find a prototype image of SMEX 7901 in Rail Pictures Archives, not sure if it's fantasy or not). But, it's almost like the rebuilders took out 2 bays (4 panels) from a 5 Bay Ortner, and made a 3 bay aggregate by spicing the two ends together - notice the seam & splice plate in the images of TRIX 75339 (other hoppers have similar seams, in somewhat different locations). To strengthen the splice they welded some bar along the top chord, like modelers do when splicing a model.Nice theory, a "chopped" 5 bay hopper...except I can't seem to find any info to prove or disprove this?Any ideas, folks?
zstripe Apparently,Ortner was the original builder,could not find when. This site,states,that they have some: http://www.dcrailandhobby.com/about-us/
Apparently,Ortner was the original builder,could not find when.
This site,states,that they have some:
http://www.dcrailandhobby.com/about-us/
As for the original prototype, I do suspect they were build by Ortner, meaning they would have to have been built prior to 1985 (the Trinity merger I mentioned in my OP). From really not much info at all, I think the GATX (TRIX) cars were built in the 1970s by Ortner, rebuilt in the late 1990s (several images support 1-99 date on the sides, but not build dates and what date that actually represents is lost in a bunch of white undecipherable pixels on the image - I couldn't get close enough in real life to check the FRA plates without some serious trespassing, so that wasn't going to happen either).
As for that hobby shop, the Ortner Hopper is our old friend the Walthers model I mentioned before (there is another Ortner model listed, this one the old MDC five bay model).
Well, it was worth a shot - thanks.
Hope that helps,some.
100t ~42ft 3-Bay GATX aggregates cars have become pretty common around Long Island over the past few years. I mean hoppers like this TRIX 75339 or TRIX 75393 (which I saw today, along with many others).So far I have been unable to determine the (prototype) manufacturer, or even get real build dates (although I did see mention on RR Picture Archives of a mid-70s build date. If mid-1970s, quite possibly these were manufactured by Ortner (which apparently was merged into Trinity during the mid-1980s), who made the prototype for the well known Walthers' model. I see that contemporary manufacturers Freightcar America and National Steel Car of Canada (sorry, loud site laden with flash: navigate to RailCar Show Room, Open Top Hoppers, image 4...and just pretend Uma Thurman is punching thru 100tons of aggregate while you listen to the soundtrack...) currently make similar models, while TrinityRail has a somewhat different design.
To summarize my questions:
1) Which manufacturer(s) built these style of aggregate cars, and when? GATX fleet.2) What would be the closest existing model (RTR or Kit) to this car in HO, if there even is one?
Thanks...