Conrail's G41A class of coil steel cars were built between 1965 and 1968 for the Pennsylvania Railroad at its Hollidaysburg car shops. 268 cars were produced. They went to Penn Central and then Conrail. CR 606348 had been painted for Pennsylvania Railroad. Penn Central fully repainted it in their green. I'm not sure if Conrail repainted into their boxcar red. I caught CR 606348 on a freight through Duncannon in 1996. It had recently been repainted black in the Quality scheme without its G41A class stencil.
Class: G41A
Location: Duncannon, PA
Photo Date: 9-8-96
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: July 7, 1998

CR 606356 was an experimental prototype car, the only car in Conrail's G40 class. It was built in 1964 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as PRR 387000. It had seven troughs for rolls of coil steel. The Pennsy didn't feel that its longer car body and heavier weight justified the expense, so the following G41 class of coil steel cars were built with six troughs.
Class: G40
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 4-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

The G43A class built by PC at their Altoona Shops in 1968 as PC 576000-578149. Cars would then become CR 576000-578149. Some cars have been renumbered into the CR 579801-579994 series as well as the CR 600000 series for steel coil loading only. Some cars were renumbered into the series CR 579801-579994. G43A gondolas were equipped gondolas. They were stenciled "Coil Steel Loading Only" as seen on CR 608520. The G43B and G43B classes also had cars reserved for coil steel loading and had the same stencils on their sills. Due to the steel's weight, only two or four coils could be loaded, one or two coils over each truck where the car could better support them without bending.
Class: G43A
Location: Altoona, PA
Photo Date: 10-7-97
Photographer: Robert Russell     Added: October 30, 1999

CR 609440 was part of New York Central Lot 122F of coil steel cars built by the Greenville Steel Car Company.
Class: 122F
Location: Altoona, PA
Photo Date: 7-30-05
Photographer: Mark MacDougall     Added: December 23, 2005

The G42B class of gondolas were built in the Altoona shops by Penn Central in 1969. They originally were in series PC 623260-623549. Conrail renumbered them into different series bases on what jobs there designed for. Those in series CR 611000-611025 were dedicated to coil steel loading and came with covers to protect the steel from exposure.
Class: G42B
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 2-97
Photographer: Lon Godshall     Added: February 26, 1999

One of the G42B class of gondolas with hoods for coil steel service.
Class: G42B
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 4-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

CR 611023 has a different hood than most G42B's in coil steel service.
Class: G42B
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 7-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

Between 1967 and 1969, the Greenville Steel Car Company built 175 coil steel cars for Erie Lackawanna. On the Conrail roster, these became class GE52A, GE52B, and GE52C. The GE52B and GE52C look like traditional coil steel cars, whereas the GE52A cars look quite different.
Class: GE52B
Location: Morrisville, PA
Photo Date: 1-99
Photographer: John Almeida     Added: February 20, 1999

Evans Products built 75 of these 100-ton, "Type 4" coil steel cars for the Reading Company. The cars can hold different widths of coil steel, which is thinly rolled steel that is rolled into a coil and then placed vertically into the bed of the car. The coils come in three different widths: 24", 36", and 48". The hoods protect the coils from the elements during shipping from the steel mill to the manufacturer. Conrail created an entire coil steel network.
Class: GR42A
Location: Wyomissing, PA
Photo Date: 5-30-96
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: May 9, 1998

CR 623055 is ex-RDG 99152. Here is has two CSX hoods, which happened to be the next in line at the mill.
Class: GR42A
Location: Morrisville, PA
Photo Date: 1-99
Photographer: John Almeida     Added: February 20, 1999

Part of Erie Lackawanna's order of 175 coil steel cars from Greenville Steel Car Company, CR 622317 is ex-CR 606844 (ex-EL 15983). The yellow hood was from CSX and just happened to be the next hood in line at the steel mill.
Class: GE52C
Location: Wyomissing, PA
Photo Date: 6-99
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: October 30, 1999

Another of the former Erie Lackawanna coil steel cars. Take note of the GE52 class on the ends of the hoods. This was a common Conrail practice.
Class: GE52C
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonell     Added: December 17, 2004

CR 622357 was originally numbered CR 606875 (ex-EL 17415).
Class: GE52C
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonell     Added: December 17, 2004

CR 622357 was originall numbered CR 606875 (ex-EL 17415).
Class: GE52C
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonell     Added: December 17, 2004

CR 622363 was originally numbered CR 606876, a former Erie Lackawanna car.
Class: GE52C
Location: Morrisville, PA
Photo Date: 1-99
Photographer: John Almeida     Added: February 20, 1999

The G42C class of coil steel cars were built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in late 1965. They were passed onto Penn Central and then Conrail. In late-1992, Conrail rebuilt a number of these cars to increase their service time. It's only been a year and a half since CR 623557 had been rebuilt, which is why it looks in such good shape for a nearly 35-year-old coil steel gondola.
Class: G42C
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 4-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

Another rebuilt G42C, CR 623558 has taller, rounder hoods.
Class: G42C
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 4-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

The F51 and F51A classes were built in early-1997 and late-1997 respectively by Thrall. Dubbed "CoilSHIELD2" cars, these were Conrail's final coil steel car design. They were in series CR 623600-623699 and CR 623800-623899.
Class: F51
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Photo Date: 7-21-98
Photographer: Tom Wolfgang     Added: August 8, 1998

Instead of the usual boxcar brown Conrail used on most of their coil steel cars, Conrail switched to a light gray as used on maintenance of way cars, such as ballast cars. This sure made them easy to spot from a distance on coil steel trains, such as PIMO (Pittsburg, PA (Conway East Yard) - Morrisville, NJ) and its counterpart MOPI, which usually hit the Reading, PA area in the late afternoon or early evening. In 1997, PIMO was scheduled to arrive in Harrisburg at 2:35pm, pick up and set off cars, and then depart at 4:35pm. It became a regular train for me to catch, spurring my interest in coil steel cars.
Class: F51
Location: Hershey, PA
Photo Date: ?-97
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: May 9, 1998

In 1965, Evans Products built a group of Type I and Type II coil steel cars for New York Central. They were classed as Lot 984F and were in series NYC 752000-752099 and had the same numbers under Penn Central. They were later renumbered under Conrail.
Class: 984F
Location: Lebanon, PA
Photo Date: 3-97
Photographer: Lon Godshall     Added: February 26, 1999

Class: F51
Location: Unknown
Photo Date: ?-98
Photographer: John Berger     Added: September 5, 1998

Class: F51
Location: Altoona, PA
Photo Date: ?-98
Photographer: Lon Godshall     Added: February 26, 1999

In late-1997, Thrall built the F51A class of CoilSHIELD2 coil steel cars for Conrail. They had series CR 623900-623999. Besides being painted in Conrail's familiar oxide red, the coil shields on this F51 subclass have a slightly different design.
Class: F51A
Location: Altoona, PA
Photo Date: 5-4-98
Photographer: Lon Godshall     Added: February 26, 1999

The class F50 coil steel cars were built by the Penn Central in the old New York Central Despatch car shops in East Rochester, NY shortly before Penn Central closed the shops. The F50 were in series PC 752100-752799. Conrail originally kept the same numbering but later renumbered them into series CR 627100-627799. BTW check out the duck on the hood.
Class: F50
Location: Newark, NJ (Oak Island)
Photo Date: ?-94
Photographer: John McCluskey     Added: September 5, 1998

It's five years after the end of Conrail, but CR 627599 still looks like it did years earlier under Conrail.
Class: F50
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

It is 1998, and CR 627648 is still in its original Penn Central green with Conrail reporting marks painted over the original numbers.
Class: F50
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Photo Date: 2-7-98
Photographer: John Schodowski     Added: August 19, 1998

Class: F50
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

Class: F50
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

SEICO built the class G42E coil steel cars in 1977 for the failed Rock Island in series ROCK 955000-955024. Conrail purchased them in 1980 and renumbered them into series CR 627900-627924, but the cars were not in consecutive order.
Class: G42E
Location: Norristown, PA (Abrams Yard)
Photo Date: 10-94
Photographer: John Alamieda     Added: October 14, 2001

In late 1977 in the Chicago shops, Thrall produced 300 new class G52A coil steel cars for Conrail. They were in series CR 628001-628300.
Class: G52A
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

Twenty years old, CR 628185 had been recently repainted with matching Conrail ribbed hoods. It was rare to see cars with matching hoods.
Class: G52A
Location: Reading, PA (CP Belt)
Photo Date: 4-97
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: July 7, 1998

CR 628284 is on an eastbound freight through the small borough of West Lawn heading toward Wyomissing Junction.
Class: G52A
Location: West Lawn, PA
Photo Date: 1-97
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: July 7, 1998

In 1979 and 1980, Portec, Inc. in their Winder, GA, shops built a total of 600 class G52B coil steel cars in two orders for Conrail. They were placed in series CR 628301-628900.
Class: G52B
Location: Unknown
Photo Date: ?-98
Photographer: John Berger     Added: September 5, 1998

The two hoods on CR 628372 are as-built by Portec.
Class: G52B
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

Often the hoods on coil steel cars could be mixed or matched because the next hood in line at the plant gets placed on the car, no matter the type of hood or the owner of the hood.
Class: G52B
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

Thrall built the G52S coil steel car as the first of Conrail's CoilSHIELD cars. They were in series CR 631000-631137.
Class: G52S
Location: Lyons, PA
Photo Date: 8-96
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: May 9, 1998

In 1997, Conrail and Thrall will abandon the braced and angled shield design of the G52 class for the curved roof design of the CoilSHIELD2 cars in the F51 class.
Class: G52S
Location: Unknown
Photo Date: Unknown
Photographer: Doug Trueblood     Added: July 10, 1998

Thrall built the G52U class of coil steel cars in 1993. Conrail placed this subclass of the CoilSHIELD cars in series CR 631238-631441.
Class: G52U
Location: Norristown, PA
Photo Date: 8-18-04
Photographer: Sean McDonnell     Added: May 6, 2005

The F50 class of coil steel car was built for Penn Central at the old New York Central's Despatch Shops in East Rochester, NY, shortly before the shops closed in 1970. Penn Central placed the F50 in series PC 752100-752799. Conrail kept the cars in the same series (CR 752100-752799). Later in the 1980's, Conrail renumbered the cars into series CR 627100-627799. Almost the last car in the series, CR 752794 has been repainted into Conrail but still has original Penn Central hoods. This car will be renumbered as CR 627794
Class: F50
Location: York, PA
Photo Date: ?-80
Photographer: Tom Wolfgang     Added: May 9, 1998

Conrail developed these racks to carry coils on modified bulkend flatcars. They always sat on TTJX bulkend flatcars.
Class: None
Location: Wyomissing, PA
Photo Date: 6-2-96
Photographer: Robert Waller     Added: July 7, 1998

Another coil steel cradle on a TTJX flatcar.
Class: None
Location: Unknown
Photo Date: 11-8-97
Photographer: Robert Russell     Added: October 30, 1999