If you mean before the mandatory 50 year inspection, NS has many old coal cars still in service from the early 1970s. Look for the "Top Gon" logo and check the built date in the painted black box on the cars.
Paul,
i have seen similar hoppers go through St Paul the last couple of summers, also marked for RFMX, pulled along by Twin Cities & Western power. It is astonishing how old some of those cars are, and until this thread, I had no idea there was actually a clock ticking on all them. There are also a good number of PS hoppers (originally CNW) which are something to look at; not sure how many times some of these changed hands, as they are patched and over-patched a few times.
I’m trying to model “present day“ on my layout, but I might have to lock into a time period soon if these are going to start disappearing because they ”time out”; I’ve got several models like this for my layout and they have great character. Guess I’m getting old enough that the things I’m familiar with are starting to disappear, and the new things are going to pass me by!
Union Pacific/DRGW 1915 coal hoppers in Tucson, Az.
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