Audio Transcript:
A Gondola is defined as an open top freight car used for carrying commodities not requiring protection from the weather. They load and unload from the top, and carry items such as pipe, steel, poles, woodchips, sugar beets, and machinery, to name a few. Some even have ends that drop down to facilitate loading and unloading.
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum features several gondolas of various vintages and lengths, including WP 6424, one of the first freight cars to feature "Roller Bearing" wheel sets, which are now the industry wide standard and a requirement of modern day railroads.
