B&M Woodchip Cars

My Athearn 4-pack fleet of B&M woodchip cars on the WRD. The fleet is coated with Proto Paint Flat Haze. Car on right has 3 coats, next has two, next one and far left car is still untouched.

Athearn offered a B&M woodchip car model about a year or so ago. I though I would give you a peek at my B&M four-pack. B&M had 20 woodchip cars on their roster that came in two styles. These cars were rebuilt from hopper cars using five foot extensions to the upper areas. The cars had woodchip service-return to Woodsville, NH on the upper portion. These car operated between Woodsville and Ashland, NH. I currently have my fleet weathered with paint fading viewed wearing three coat down to none for comparison. More work is still to be completed on my cars such as the trucks need weathering and also the couplers.

If you can not find a finished B&M woodchip car you can detail a B&M woodchip model using an Athearn or Bowser woodchip car and applying Highball Graphics F-252 B&M decals. This set will do two cars in either the big or small B&M herald. Highball Graphics also has this decal set in N or O scale if that is your scale. Bluford offered a N scale B&M woodchip cars as single, a set of two or a set of three.

The B&M woodchip cars were numbered in two groupings, 7500 - 7501 and 7502 - 7519.
B&M 7500 - 7501 purchased in 1964 are converted 3-bay, ribbed side hopper cars originally build in April 1923 with a 3600 cu. ft. capacity. They rode on Andrews style trucks. These cars were all removed from service by 1970.

One of two in this group.

B&M 7502 - 7519 also purchased in 1964 are converted 3-bay offset hopper cars. This group rode on Bettendorf trucks. These woodchip cars are the same as the 3 bay offset hoppers in the B&M 7300 series built in 1949 by Bethlehem Steel.

B&M 7511 is seen in Concord, NH during May 1972. Bruce Nelson photo

Another good look of the flat haze finish with the untouched car in the background. In this photo the woodchip load looks kind of white or washed out. The loads look pretty good in person although I may change the colouring a bit so they photograph better.