Comments on: Mystery Over 40 ft Grain Load Door Boxcars

By: JLP

JLP — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 03:36:39 +0000

A lot depends on what you are modeling. If you are modeling a main line what Hervey says may be true. I lived on a small branch line and into th 70s I never saw a hopper….everything was 40’ boxcars with grain load boxcar doors. In order to take advantage of hoppers you had to modify elevators to not only load, but unload hoppers…..not a cheap thing to do

By: Timothy Morlok

Timothy Morlok — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 19:26:09 +0000

During the mid 70’s they were used on the Union Pacific in the Pacific Northwest when the exported grain shipments exceeded the supply of available hoppers. They even used regular 40 ft boxcars with wooden grain door inserts.

By: Hervey

Hervey — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 05:50:26 +0000

You are definitely no later than transition era and even a little bit before then.By mid to later 1950’s they had moved to dedicated hoppers for grain transport.