Gondola, Steel Coil, Evans 48 Foot

History: The increased volume of coiled steel transportation gave rise to a new purpose-built freight car. Previously rolls of coiled-steel had generally traveled in specially equipped gondola cars. In the 1960s a lighter type of car emerged specifically for hauling coils of steel in an integral trough. The car type gained popularity and eventually over 17,000 cars were built. One common model was the 48 foot design from Evans.

The new commodity-specific coil-steel car were built with a 100-ton capacity using a trough frame and body. The early designs were refined during the 1960s and eventually Evans adopted a 48-foot length as standard. Production lasted well into the 1970s.

Railroad/Company: Founded as U.S. Railway Equipment, or U.S. Railway Manufacturing, the name was changed to Evans Railcar Manufacturing in 1964. Evans Products Freight Cars built in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's were plentiful in the 1990's and many EP Freight Cars are still around. SIECO became one of their subsidiaries. Evans was purchased by GE Transportation sometime in the 1980s and transformed into a maintenance division.