Those amorphrodite cars...

Drop bottom gons were problematic cars. They occaisonally carried revenue loads ,but usually were employed carrying company coal or ballast. They were dangerous to work around and accounted for lots of reportable injuries over the years. Section men smashed hands trying to use the rachet and pawl to raise or lower the doors. The cars needed to be shovelled out sometimes, and it was easy to fall through the doors. They could tip over very easily, if only one side was dropped. They even tipped over while standing still! While good for beefing up roadbed shoulders, they were useless for spreading gravel. The purchase of EBT center-dump cars by both the D&S and the C&T was a good and logical move.