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!

Norfolk Southern Rib Side Wood Chip Hopper with Rib Side Extensions. In 1963, NS rebuilt a number of their standard hoppers into wood chip hoppers to serve their surging timber industry business. Of course we are talking about the original Norfolk Southern. This NS ran from Norfolk, Virginia south into North Carolina, then west to Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville, and finally Charlotte. In comparison, this NS was a bit bigger than the Monon.