CN ECC Gondolas - variety is the spice of life
Between 1933 and 1943 Canadian National Railways ordered 1750 48'6" steel mill gondolas from Eastern Car Company (ECC) in Trenton Nova Scotia. These cars were found thoughout the CN system well into the 1980's, with some staying on in work service well into the 1990's. Since I model a smelter I need a seemingly endless number of gondolas, so I needed a few of this type on my roster. Fortunately for CN modellers this particular car is readily available from Westerfield Models (http://westerfieldmodels.com/46722.html). Again we modellers owe Stafford Swain a debt of gratitude for both building the masters for this model as well as for convincing Westerfield to issue kits #7101 (no stakes) and #7111 (with stakes). Over the years I have acquired a number of these kits and it was always on my "to do" list as they are particularly well researched thanks to Stafford Swain (various CN Lines and other publications) and Ian Cranstone (CN Lines Vol 8 No 3). I use