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Now some more detailed information from the July 2009 Eagle.
First, the article begins in 1912 with the first steel frame (composite) gons, not the first all-steel ones. The honor of first all-steel is somewhat complicated, since the series of steel gondola cars that ended up on the MP was built in 1914 for I&GN, more than ten years before it became part of the Texas Lines. The first all-steel cars actually built for the MP proper were these panel-side gons, beginning in 1937.
This article actually does not shed any light on the original question, since there is neither any discussion nor an interior photo of one of these cars. However, there are quite a few good photos, many of them MP shop photos (“builder’s photos”), of their exteriors. I don’t know if this issue is still available from the MPHS company store, but if you’re going to build more MoPac gondolas, I’d recommend it.
RG7
