Mysterious carload on empty Shelocta coal train

[kolechovski]

Just 2 days ago (Tuesday), a coal train, one that seemed like any other, left the Keystone Generating Station sometime after noon. Due to immense vegetation, high corn fields, and harsh shadows from the train being backlit, I didn't get a good look, but for the moment this strange car appeared between the trees, I was able to pick up that it seemed to be a flat with some type of black box on it, just before the trailing locos. So, I'm wondering if anybody here is familiar with the Sheloctas and saw that specific train, and that mysterious car. I'm curious as to what that was. BTW, in case somebody might be thinking slug, the box on top was too small to have been the body of a slug, and what a slug would be doing on that train beats me. Anybody know? Naturally, the one train that I wasn't prepared to chase would be the one with something special about it...typical railfan luck.

[ndbprr]

Want to give some of us who have never heard of Shelocta some idea of where in the country that is? Your flat could have had some piece of machinery blocked in a crate to protect it from weather and vandalism or damage. Power plants have turbines and generators and a shaft or similar object could hav ebeen going to the manufacturer for overhaul or fixing. Some of the ones I have worked with are up to 40' long and 24" diameter and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not something to drop on a car and just lash down.