They are finally complete 

Yes, the much vaunted gondolas are now complete. Well, almost. They still need reporting marks. I am debating about brake wheels and brake stands as well. Maybe I should have a contest about which reporting marks? Perhaps not. These things can get a little heated if not handled correctly. Now with the  gondolas at work, we can haul sand, gravel and more. We can get sand to the forthcoming sandhouse. You may be wondering, “What is a sandhouse?”. Well, dear readers, sand is used to give locomotives traction when the wheels slip. Ice, snow, rain, bugs (yes, locusts can be so numerous they cause problems with slippery rails). The air system blows sand from the sand dome or sand container in the case of diesels to just where it is needed at the wheels. So the locomotives get their sand from a container elevated above the locomotives height. The container gets sand piped to it by air. The sandhouse gets sand from a large bin on the ground. The bin looks like a pen with wooden fences. A load of sand is brought in and emptied into the bin. This sand is called “green” sand. It may be wet or damp. A worker moves the sand into the sandhouse where it is dried with heat and then piped to the above track container. Betch'a didn't know all this about sand, did you? Well, anyway, see you next time, sandy and gritty, omscaler