Steel Train Into NS Norris Yard - Irondale AL 02-17-2013

Returning from a short trip with Mrs. HOI, I stopped by the NS Norris Yard in Irondale, Al. to see what was going on. It was hazy and mid-afternoon so I knew photo quality would be iffy, but the long train of steel coil, forms, and ingots was too much to pass up.

The train included coil cars (open and hooded), coil gondolas (open and hooded), flat cars, low-bulkhead flat cars, bulkhead flat cars, gondolas, and coal gondolas converted to scrap metal service.

I apologize for the lack of captions here, but cut-n-pasting 86 captions was more than I was willing to take on this afternoon.

SOU-NS MOW Wheel Car-New Orleans 05-14-1997

Norfolk Southern's Oliver Yard has a small shop for repairing cars. Part of that role is replacing wheels as needed, and that means that occasionally a car has to journey to New Orleans with a load of wheels to supply the shop. 

The car on this day was SOU #911268, and the build date for this flat car was September, 1938, so it was in its 61st year of service when I shot this picture at Oliver Junction, just north of Florida Avenue and Oliver Yard. If there is one thing that railroads (at least well-run roads) can do, it's squeeze 25 cents out of a nickel. Long after this car stopped earning revenue for the Southern and then NS, it's still providing a vital MOW service. 

SOU #911268 MOW wheel car on the NS at Oliver Junction NOLA 05-14-1997

SOU #911268 MOW wheel car B-end on the NS at Oliver Junction NOLA 05-14-1997

SOU #911268 MOW wheel car wheelo load and rub rail on the NS at Oliver Junction NOLA 05-14-1997

SOU #911268 MOW wheel car COTS stencil on the NS at Oliver Junction NOLA 05-14-1997

CSX Coil Car Mystery

Hi all----I have a mystery about a coil car that I am seeking to solve with your help.

Back in 2000, I shot a brand-spanking-new CSXT Thrall coil car in mineral red, CSXT #496329.

(photo above copyright, Patrick Harris, 2013)

I didn’t recall seeing any of these mineral-red cars again after my time in Jackson, so I went to RRPictureArchives to see when/if they got repainted. Imagine my surprise when I found the exact same car #, but the car not only was painted in the more traditional blue and yellow of CSX coil cars, but was in fact now an NSC coil car:

Photo is courtesy of RRPicture Archives. See it on the site below:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=104302

A look at the page listing this number series (CSXT #4963XX) shows them all to be NSC cars.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=CSX&Page=184

Can anyone tell me if the mineral-red cars were returned to lessor, sold, or re-numbered to another series? It may not be a mystery to someone who knows, but it certainly is to me!