Bethlehem Steel Hoppers

[nbrodar]

The Bowser 100 ton 3 bay hopper is indeed a very accurate model of the Norfolk and Western H-11 hopper introduced in 1960.  The car was widely copied by most eastern and mid-western coal haulers.  Bethlehem Steel, ACF, Pullman Standard, Greenville Car, and Trinity, all built nearly identical cars.  PRR, N&W, and Reading also built a number of them in-house.

However, IIRC, the Walthers car represents a slightly larger car, introduced in the 1970s.  It's a favorite of the western coal haulers. 

I haven't seen the Bachmann car, so I can't give a comparison.

One thing to keep in mind, the Walthers cars are avalable in 6 to 12 numbers, and (depending on the production run) the Bowser cars are avalable in 12 or more numbers.

Nick

[ericsp]

It seems like Bowser's 100 ton hopper is a model of the same prototype, if I remember correctly.

Athearn's quad hopper, if it has a prototype, would be a model of a car that would no longer be in revenue service.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure they do represent the same prototype as each other. Those cars are still in service and make up a large part of many railroads' hopper fleets. The Norfolk Western H-11 design made by Bethlehem became the industry standard for 100 ton 3 bay hoppers and Pullman, Greenville Steel Car, and Trinity all built similar cars of their own.

[bagal]

Walthers make a Bethlehem 3 Bay 4000 cubic foot hopper. Bachmann make a Silver Series 3 Bay 100 ton hopper. Do both these cars represent the same prototype? They look similiar in their photos apart from brake wheel height. Which is the better model? I do have a Bachmann one but am contemplating getting some more. Are these hoppers still in current use? I found a reference to the prototype which suggests they are/were used in rotary dumping service and the Walthers models have a painted end suggesting rotary couplers although they do have bottom discharges.

Finally does the Athearn 40 Quad Hopper represent a hopper still in current use?

Thanks for any help.

Bill