A covered hopper is a self-clearing enclosed railroadfreight car with fixed roof, sides, and ends with openings for loading through the roof and bottom openings for unloading. Covered hopper cars are designed for carrying dry bulk loads, varying from grain to products such as sand and clay.[1] The cover protects the loads from the weather. Dry cement would be very hard to unload if mixed with water in transit, while grain would be likely to rot if exposed to rain.
HO Cars Accurail-ACF 3-Bay Covered Hoppers, Accurail HO 3-Bay ACF Covered Hopper Canadian Pacific, LIST PRICE $19.98, Accurail HO 3-Bay ACF Hopper Ashland Chemicals, LIST PRICE $19.98, Accurail HO 3-Bay Covered Hopper Canadian Pacific, LIST PRICE $19.98, Accurail HO 3-by ACF Cvrd Hpr SEABOARD, DUE, LIST PRICE $20.98, Accurail HO ACF 3-Bay Covered Hopper, NYC, LIST PRICE $19.98. One of the more important builders of covered hoppers was American Cr & Foundry (ACF). The first ACF covered hoppers were rib-side cars, like many others of the time. In the 1960's ACF eliminated the supporting ribs and started building what they called the Center Flow hopper with a smooth, rounded side. MP 705871 - 2-bay covered hopper, with 2950-cubic foot capacity, twin compartment ACF CenterFlo, on the quarry's industrial track at Weeping Water, Nebraska. Greuter Photo MoPac's covered hoppers generally all wore light gray on the body with black lettering. MP 705871 - 2-bay covered hopper, with 2950-cubic foot capacity, twin compartment ACF CenterFlo, on the quarry's industrial track at Weeping Water, Nebraska. MoPac's covered hoppers generally all wore light gray on the body with black lettering. The Accurail ACF 3-bay covered hopper is a good model of the ACF 4600cf car. The ACF 4600cf car was the choice of many railroads for hauling grain, malt, and other agricultural commodities and thus most midwestern railroads had very large fleets of ACF 4600cf cars.
History[edit]
While hopper cars had long been used to carry mined products like coal, ore, and gravel; boxcars were used for granular materials requiring protection from moisture until waterproof covers were devised for hopper cars. Gravity flow through the bottom of the hopper car simplifies unloading granular bulk commodities. Although removable canvas covers are sometimes used to protect moisture sensitive commodities in open hopper cars, a metal top with waterproof loading hatches provides superior protection.[2] These loading hatches along the top of the covered hopper may be a single long opening along the centerline or a pattern of multiple round or square openings positioned to allow uniform weight distribution when loading the car.
Some covered hoppers have two to four separated bays. Each of these can be loaded and emptied individually, with access at the top to load the materials and visible chutes at the bottom for unloading. Early production emphasized two-bay cars very similar to open coal hoppers and suitable for materials of similar density, like Portland cement or rock-salt. Some cars were available in the 1910s, and became more common by the 1940s. These early cars were volume-limited for less dense commodities like grain or sugar, so later designs include longer covered hopper cars with higher sides and three or more bottom bays.[3] Increasing axle load limits have allowed some of the heavier loads formerly assigned to two-bay hoppers to be assigned to larger, more efficient three-bay hoppers.
Some covered hopper cars retain the conventional centersill as a strength member transmitting compression and tensionforces from one car to the next. Beginning in the 1960s, designs distributing these forces along the sides of the car eliminated the centersill beam to simplify bulk material handling with wider hopper openings reducing the tendency for bridging to restrict gravity flow when unloading the car.[4]
Large unit trains of various grain crops are a common sight in North America, reaching up to 125 cars long. These predominantly haul grain from the large farming areas of the Great Plains to various markets, but a number of unit trains originate from other major farming areas, such as Illinois and Indiana. These trains may originate from a single grain elevator, or may be marshaled in a yard from various locals (short trains which serve nearby industries). The destinations tend to be large flour mills or ports (for export), or they may be split up and delivered to multiple locations. The empty cars may return as a whole train, or may be sent back in smaller quantities on manifest trains (trains which carry just about any type of freight). These trains are used primarily for hauling products such as corn, wheat and barley.
Acf Covered Hoppers
References[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Covered hopper railway wagons. |
- ^Walthers, W. K. (1937). Handbook for Model Railroaders. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin: The Modelmaker Corporation. p. 114.
- ^Henry, Robert Self (1942). This Fascinating Railroad Business (First ed.). New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company. pp. 248 & 249.
- ^Sweetland, David R.; Horsley, Stephen (1994). Northern New England Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment. Edison, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books. pp. 35, 36 & 51. LCCN94075695. OCLC32243319.
- ^'Centerflow Cars'. American Railcar Industries, Inc. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
External links[edit]
Atlas N scale ACF 5800 Covered Hopper
WFRX # 877585
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Atlas N scale PS 4427 Covered Hopper
UP # 21825
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Atlas N scale Difco Side Dump Hopper
MRL # 100991
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Atlas N scale Difco Side Dump Hopper
MP # 55143
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Atlas N scale Trinity Covered Hopper
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Atlas N scale 2 Bay Center Flow Covered Hopper
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CSX # 243145
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Atlas N scale ACF 5701 Covered Hopper
CPC # 7059
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HO ACF Flexi Flo: NYC As Delivered (941H) - In Service 1964 6-pack Includes The Following Numbers: #885800 #885804 #885809 #885811 #885818 #885823 SKU: 133002
Atlas Trainman N scale ACF 3560 Covered Hopper
Gardinier # 62933
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Atlas N scale 2 Bay Offset Hopper
Southern # 285669
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