Hopper car

China Product






Two-bay hopper cars of the Reading Railroad. rigid heddle looms

New hopper cars outside the Trinity Industries plant where they were manufactured in Winder, Georgia. water jet looms

A hopper car is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, track ballast, and the like. The name originated from the coke manufacturing industry which is part of the steel industry (see Etymology below). burner propane

This type of car is distinguished from a gondola car in that it has opening doors on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. The development of the hopper car went along with the development of automated handling of such commodities, with automated loading and unloading facilities. There are two main types of hopper car: open and covered.

Covered hopper cars are used for bulk cargo that must be protected from the elements (chiefly rain) such as grain, sugar, and fertilizer. Open cars are used for commodities such as coal, which can get wet and dry out with less harmful effect. Hopper cars have been used by railways worldwide whenever automated cargo handling has been desired. "Ore jennies" is predominately a term for shorter open hopper cars hauling taconite by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway on Minnesota's Iron Range.

Recently in North America the open hopper car has been in a terminal decline due to the advent of the rotary car dumper (which simply inverts the car to unload it, and has become the preferred unloading technology). A rotary dumper permits the use of simpler, tougher, more compact (because sloping ends are not required) gondola cars instead of hoppers. Covered hoppers, though, are still in widespread use. For loads that are less dense (such as grains) or susceptible to damage in the weather (such as unmixed cement), covered hoppers are normally used.

Special hopper trains

The Coke Express, a unit train of hopper cars loaded with Coke (fuel), with the words "Coke Express" painted on the sides of the hoppers.

External links

Union Pacific #7801 photos and short history of an example of a typical self-clearing, open-top triple hopper.

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Rail transport freight equipment

Enclosed equipment

Autorack  Boxcar (US)  Coil car  Container   Covered hopper  Covered wagon  Refrigerator car (US)  Refrigerated van (EU)  Roadrailer  Stock car  Tank car

Open equipment

Flatcar  Gondola (US)  Hopper car  Open wagon (EU)  Schnabel car  Double-stack car

Non-revenue equipment

Caboose (US)  Brake van (EU)   Maintenance of way cars  Scale test car  Clearance car  Crane (railroad)

Categories: Freight equipment