Beginning in the late 50s, wood chips went from something to be disposed of to a valuable commodity. Since wood chips are less dense than coal, gravel and other hopper loads, many railroads added high extensions to standard hoppers for this service. The extentions were simple affairs, either rib sided or flat sided that were welded to the top chords of standard hoppers. Like our coal hoppers, these N scale models will come ready-to-run with knuckle couplers, and loads.. First draft artwork is show here and is subject to improvement by our crack research staff!

Gulf Mobile & Ohio Rib Side Wood Chip Hopper with Rib Side Extensions. In 1965, Gulf Mobile & Ohio bought a fleet of used 70 ton rib side coal hoppers from Detroit Toledo & Ironton. The following year, they began adding ribbed extensions to these cars wood chip service at their Frascati Shops. The fleet remained intact well into the Illinois Central Gulf era.