Winter 2010 - Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society

There were a total of 12,150 G31-class cars constructed;
14,050 if the G31 – plus the similar G35 – are included. With the
loss of many older cars during the decade preceding their construction,
The G31/G35 classes comprised a very significant part
of the PRR’s gondola fleet. To illustrate the magnitude of the
place in the PRR roster these cars filled, look at the totals from
the Official Railway Equipment Register roster dated October
31, 1952 (issue cover date January 1953). Keep in mind there
were almost 1000 G35 not yet built as of this date.
ALL FREIGHT CARS
Number of Percent of
Freight Car Type Cars Total
Open Hopper 75,077 38.57
Box Car 68,145 35.01
Gondola 44,594 22.91
Flat Car 3,189 1.64
Covered Hopper 2,297 1.18
Stock Car 1,327 0.68
Total 194,629 100.00
Here is the breakdown by gondola class (with subclass included
within the base class for simplicity).
PRR Gondola Number of Percent of
Class
Cars Total
GR 3,689 8.27
GS 882 1.98
G21 1 0.00
G22 6,127 13.74
G24 545 1.22
G25 2,461 5.52
G26 2,348 5.27
G27 4,495 10.08
G28 1,895 4.25
G29 2,981 6.68
G30 997 2.24
G31 12,149 27.24
G32 2,100 4.71
G33 950 2.13
G34 2,000 4.48
G35 974 2.18
Total 44,594 100.00
Here is the breakdown by sub-class for G31/G35.
PRR Gondola Number of Percent of
Class
Cars Total
G31 2,900 6.50
G31A 4,799 10.76
G31B 2,000 4.48
G31C 750 1.68
G31D 1,200 2.69
G31E 500 1.12
G35 974 2.18
Total 13,123 29.41
So the bottom line here is that in the early 1950’s gons made
up close to one quarter of the total PPR fleet of nearly 200,000
cars and of those, almost one in three was a G31/G35. PRR and
non-PRR modelers alike need these cars.
Additional background can be found in the previous TKM
articles on the G31:
• G31, G31A/B/D, G35 Gondolas – Vol. 16, page 23: background,
diagram, numbers and quantities, photos.
• G31, G31A/B/D, G35 Gondolas – Vol. 17, page 24: supplemental
photos.
• G31C/E Gondolas – Vol. 17, page 8: background, diagram,
numbers and quantities, photos.
The Model
There is frankly very little to say about this model because it
is so well done. The construction of the car is fairly typical, the
execution is exemplary. The sides, ends and underframe members
are a one-piece injection molded part. Small details including
the tack boards, defect card holder, poling pockets, end sill
gussets, drop door latches and weld seams (including those on
the inside of the car) are molded into the body where appropriate.
Especially well executed are the shallow oval slots along the face
of the corner posts that aided in the welding process of the prototype
as well as the small holes along the length of the top chords.
Note also that the non-symmetric end sills on the car are properly
recreated; this is not a mistake. Whereas the A-end sill has a
shallow taper, the B-end sill has a much deeper taper to extend
the draft gear outward and provide space from a coupled car for
the hand brake and platform protruding from the end of the car.
(Above left) A ¾-view of G31B model. (Above right) G31B A-end showing the shallow sill, drop end door, side bracket grab, etc.
Note that the drop steps are not mangled here. The inside leg was vertical, but the outer leg was angled due to its being attached
out on the angled part of the corner post.
The Keystone Modeler 12 No. 72, Winter 2010