"Correct" coal hoppers/coal cars for steam era

[hunter2115]

Can someone give me some examples of correct coal hoppers and/or coal cars for use with a steam loco? My particular layout is something of a transitional era as I have a 2-8-0 Consolidation pulling one train and a diesel passenger train. I am not really knowledgable about what cars go with what era trains so any help is appreciated. Does Bachmann make anything for this purpose?
Thanks

[simkon]

Most hoppers are typically modeled after hoppers used during the transition era, which would be fine for use with a steam engine. Only modern hoppers modeled  after hoppers in use present day to the end of the steam era wouldn't work. But generally if you buy any old hopper car, it will most likely be suited for use with steam.

[Chris350]

Depending on the road/region you model, there are website around that list road numbers with corresponding years of service.  Also if you have the car in question in your hand, you can sometimes read the build date and any rebuild date screened on the model.  Bowser has a  selection of hoppers with years of service in the description, as does Accurail.  You might look around for Canton built cars, from the 40's and I would bet nearly any car with a USRA label on it will fit the time period.

[jward]

as a general rule, most 55 ton cars, and many 70 ton cars were used in the steam era. 100 ton cars were not.....

2 bay hoppers, and offset side cars are appropriate, as are composite (wood) side cars. 3 and 4 bay cars while not as common, were used as well.

cars with peaked ends were steam era cars, i don't believe any were built after the 1950s. luckily, coal haul;ing roads especially in the east were among the last to complete the conversion to diesel.

[Nigel]

In addition to the answers given above, hopper car design varied somewhat from railroad to railroad.  If you are not too fussy about railroad, the Bachmann Silver Series Quad hoppers are time wise appropriate:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=564

Accurail, Bowser, Broadway Limited, Walthers and many others also offer era appropriate hopper cars.

My frieght car collection is based on what would have been on the N&W in the 1950-1955 era.  My coal hopper collection includes the manufacturers list above, plus Revell, Varney, Westerfield, and others.

[jward]

one very important detail as to hoppers in the 1950s. roller bearing trucks were not in widespread use, though there were a very few out there as test cars. freight cars used the old friction bearing type trucks, the one with the lids over the ends of the axles, so they could service them with oil and cotton waste.

the roller bearing truck, as we know it to-day, with the rotating end caps on the axles visible, came into widespread use in the 1960s. therefore, any hopper car which has these trucks is too modern for your era.

[jbsmith]

One simple way is to look for "USRA" in the name, that stands for
"United States Railroad Adiministration".
That is when the U.S. government nationalized the RRs during WWI.
These stayed in service for a long time, well wthin the steam transistion
era.

As models go,they are easy to find, a number of examples can be found here, just click on the pics and you should be able to figure things out from there.
http://www.accurail.com/accurail/index.htm

Bachmann makes some too, here is one
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1626

Athearn
http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=40'+Hopper+RTR&CatID=THRF

[pdlethbridge]

I found this site which shows pictures of steam era freight cars
http://www.steamfreightcars.com/

[jonathan]

These are a few of the hoppers I use for transition era.




I look for the old blue box kits (approx 8 bucks most places).  I also make my own coal loads to save bucks for locos.

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

       If you want to be era correct,  then you go good advice in the above postings.   Remembering that this hobby is for fun,   then use whatever your wallet can afford and get whatever appeals to you.
       For me,  I love the 55 ton hoppers from Accurail,  both wood sided and steel.

Bob
In God We Trust

[ebtnut]

For detail sticklers, be advised that the composite hoppers with the wood sides were built during WWII to save steel.  Once the war was over, most of these cars got steel sides installed as soon as the wood wore out.  You would probably find very few of these cars still with wood sides by the mid-1950's.

[jward]

to add to ebt's post, mantua used to make a 2 bay composite hopper rebuilt with steel sides. the athearn one has the original wooden sides.

[SteamGene]

The C&O came out with roller bearing 70 ton 3 bay hoppers.  Accurail does a model of it, complete with the white stripe along the bottom to indicate roller bearings.  In addition, it has the correct 1948 donut herald.  Proto has some of the rebuilt composite hoppers. 
Gene

[jward]

c&o was the exception to the rule. if these are the cars i am thinking of, i got a good look at one at elkins car shop on the western maryland in 1980.
the roller bearings on this car were fully enclosed, with timken stamped on the housing at the end of the axle. there were no rotating end caps like modern roller bearing wheelsets have. they would be a very interesting modelling project.