This 30’ composite frame gondola with coal load is painted box car red with white logo and lettering. It was built in 1887 and runs on Arch Bar trucks. The transport of raw materials in bulk was the major source of traffic and revenue for the Denver & Rio Grande, and most of its lines were built to serve mines and to carry their products to ore processing. All of these commodities were shipped in bulk using coal cars or gondolas. The Rio Grande owned over 3,000 gondolas of various types throughout its existence. Some gondolas built in the 1880s survived until the1920s and the last of them disappeared from the roster before 1950.