Hopper car

[2][3][4] Plastic pellets and some finely ground material, similar to flour, are transported in hopper cars that have pneumatic unloading.

The bottom gates on the pneumatic hoppers connect to a hose attached to industrial facilities' storage tanks.

Covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a fixed roof, are used for cargo like grain, sugar, and fertilizer, and Portland cement[6] that must be protected from exposure to the weather.

Large unit trains of various grain crops are a common sight in North America, reaching up to 125 cars long.

The destinations tend to be large flour mills or ports (for export), or they may be split up and delivered to multiple locations.

Historically, open hopper cars were used to carry coarse mined products like coal, ore, and gravel, while boxcars were used for granular materials requiring protection from the elements.

[10] Increase in wheel loads has important implications for the rail infrastructure needed to accommodate future grain hopper car shipments.

Covered hopper cars carrying frac sand on the BNSF Railway through La Crosse, Wisconsin
Hopper cars may carry hazardous materials , such as this one in the Midwestern United States. Its payload of ammonium nitrate is indicated by the UN number on the diamond-shaped U.S. DOT placard . [ 1 ]
Covered hopper grain car
This covered hopper car originally was built in the 1950s for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad . After the 1967 SCL merger, these cars were fitted with rotary couplers and used in Bone Valley phosphate service.