Gondolas, The "Do Anything" Car

Perhaps more than any other railroad car-type, gondolas (also known as simply "gons"), a car related closely to the flatcar with its low ribbed sides, is the catchall car of the railroad industry. Often getting little respect this poor car is typically beaten to death but is loved for its multitude of uses.

If you come across one riding along within a train do not be surprised to see its sides bowed outwards from all of the heavy loads dropped into it over the years. Likewise, gondolas are rarely ever maintained any more than they have to be, which usually means that as long as their bearings, truck assemblies, knuckle couplers, and air-hoses work properly little more is ever done with them (meaning they usually turn into rust buckets except for the reporting marks which must be visible). However, gons are also one of the most versatile of railroad cars, being used for everything from carrying junk and scrap metal to new rails, steel coils, and other commodities.

The gondola’s humble beginnings date back to essentially the beginning of our country’s railroads themselves around 1830, being first used on early tramways and railways to haul coal. Throughout the years the car, like all of its other companion types has grown longer, stronger and even specialized to more efficiently move differing kinds of material. Today the standard gondola, resembling a flatcar with low sides, generally measures somewhere in the range of 50 feet with a capacity of near 100 tons.

For instance, today one can find all different kinds of gondola types. Some gons look nearly like boxcars but have open tops and are commonly used for lightweight materials like woodchips. Others have hatched tops to cover goods from the outside weather, and some even appear as the common hopper car which typically carries coal.

Gons are sometimes mistaken for hopper cars. The reason that the car is still classified as a gondola is because it does not have angled drop-bottom hatches or chutes like open-top hopper cars (if gons are being used to haul coal they are usually emptied all at once by being tipped upside down or having their load immediately emptied from their 90-degree drop-bottom hatches). In other words, hoppers contain some type of angled or sloped drop-bottom chutes, which use the force of gravity to quickly unload their cargo without having to tilt or turn the car upside down in any way.

While gondolas will likely always retain their image as the least respected of all railroad freight cars roaming our nation’s rails, they will also likely always retain their important function for the railroads by hauling either scrap metal and junk or dense bulk materials and general merchandise. Whatever its use may be on a day-to-day basis the gondola certainly will not be retired anytime soon.

For more reading about gondolas consider the book, Freight Train Cars, from Mike Schafer, one of the leading authors covering all corners of the railroad industry (from its history to present day operations). The book gives an excellent general history and overview on all of the common freight car types and if you are interested in learning more about them, or you are simply looking to better understanding their history and development you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".