2 Bay Offset-Hopper Car
“Sprayberry” Hopper
HISTORY
The late 1920s saw the introduction of the AAR standard “offset-side” 50- and 70-ton hoppers. The design went through several variations in the late 1920s and early 1930s before settling on two versions of the 50-ton car and one 3-bay, 70-ton car in 1935. Most roads went for the AAR standard designs, but the N&W, VGN, and Pennsy were notable holdouts. World War II brought the famous “war emergency” hoppers (only the N&W and MP bought the 70-ton version) and several composite versions of existing designs. After the war, AC&F found some brief success with a welded outside-stake hopper design, but the weld joints broke under the stress of loading and unloading rather than flexing like riveted joints. The offset-side design also had problems: the inside stakes were more prone to corrosion, and they suffered worse from loading and unloading stress than outside-staked hoppers. The design waned in the 1950s and was all but abandoned for new cars by 1960. Some roads (notably the C&O, the B&O, and the L&N) made the best of a bad situation by rebuilding their offset-side cars with all new outside-staked sides in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Most of these types of cars were gone by the mid 1970s except for some that were used for MOW service and some small local coal mines. (For instance, many ex Reading cars made it into Conrail ownership in 1976 but were not long for the roster). The proliferation of 70 and eventually 100 ton cars spelled the end for all of the 2 bay 50-55 ton designs.
Our Car
Known commonly in the Live Steam hobby as “Sprayberry” hoppers (as they were designed by Kevin Sprayberry), the cars are now sold by SprayberryHopper.com and we at Reading Car Company are also selling for them.
Kits include:
18 gauge steel panels
Precision Steel Car details including brake wheel, chain, grab irons, and hopper hardware.
Detailed instructions on assembly
Rivets (almost 1300 of them!)
The modeler will need to supply 4-40 screws and a 1x2 steel center sill.
These cars are easy to build with the included instructions and drawings. The hopper gates can be installed as fixed or operating based on your preference. Assembled cars may be available, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to talk to us!
Price: $1,250
