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!

Illinois Central Offset Side Wood Chip Hopper with Rib Side Extensions. Illinois Central adopted this image in 1967. The “split rail” logo formed the letter I with the left half of the rail (including the dot) while the right half of the rail formed the letter C. After the merger with GM&O, the split was closed up and the dot moved over the center. This road name will be available in 6 road numbers