NS donates ‘Big John’ hopper car to Tennessee museum

[NS Newsfeed]

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Norfolk Southern has donated former Southern Railway "Big John" covered hopper car No. 8744 to the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum. The car has a connection to Tennessee, as the Big John hoppers were maintained during the first half of their careers at the now gone Coster Shop in Knoxville.

It will join the collection of vintage Southern Railway freight cars at the museum.

Big John hopper cars are among the most significant freight cars built, since they established the railroads' ability to establish incentive pricing for large shipments, over the objection of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which attempted to maintain the status quo.

The cars were built at the direction of legendary Southern Railway President D. W. Brosnan. Built by Magor Car Co., the first cars arrived in 1960 and were nicknamed "Big John" after a popular country music song of the era. Made of lightweight aluminum with a carrying capacity of 97 tons, the cars featured four compartments so that multiple types of grain could be shipped in the same car. An additional order, with a 100-ton capacity, arrived in 1961-1962.

The cars were nearly double the size of the largest covered hoppers in regular use, which allowed the Southern to slash its rates for grain shipments from $10.50 per ton to as little as $3.97. Not only was this much cheaper than their old rail rates, it was also cheaper than truck or barge rates. Competitors soon filed injunctions with the ICC against the Southern's lower "unfair" rates, and included most other railroads, particularly Southern's competitors in Southeast markets.

The ICC forced Southern to maintain its rates in 1961 while it heard arguments. After nearly two years of deliberation, they allowed only a partial reduction. The Southern took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice, ultimately achieving victory in 1963.

In 1965, Southern went back to Magor for 500 "Super Big Johns" with an even greater capacity of 130 tons. These cars were 61 feet long, 15 feet tall, and came at a cost of nearly $12 million. These cars also featured a long center-loading trough in the roof of the car.

The cars also began the movement of grain away from loading into boxcars equipped with wood or paper grain doors across the door openings and into purpose-built hopper cars.

Other Big John hoppers are preserved at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer and the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga.