This familiar hopper was an industry standard on many railroads since the 1930s. It was adopted by the AAR as a recommended design, but fell out of favor by the mid-1950s. While offering greater capacity over cars with conventional flat sides, the original open hoppers created corrosive interaction between acidic coal and the car's joints, leading to costly rebuilding programs.

Features:

Separately-applied coal load, brake wheel and brakewheel platform
Either flat end or arched end as appropriate for railroad
Accurate painting and lettering
Metal couplers and sprung die-cast trucks
True scale dimensions with accurate details
Weighted, detailed underframes
2-rail cars feature scale wheels and body mounted scale couplers