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 & Mississippi Offset Side Wood Chip Hopper with Flat Side Extensions. In 1985, Gulf & Mississippi became the first major spin-off of Illinios Central Gulf. The line had 700 miles of track in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. This group of wood chip hoppers were not ex-ICG however. These cars were ex-Kansas City Southern (the white paint gives them away) that were patched with new GMSR reporting marks. A few years after start-up, Gulf & Mississippi became a subsidiary of MidSouth (itself an ICG spin-off.) In 1994, MidSouth merged with Kansas City Southern. This road name will be available in 3 road numbers: