2024 O Scale Premier 70-ton 3-Bay Hopper Car Announced
September 12, 2023 - M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2024 2024 O Scale Premier 70-ton 3-Bay Hopper Car Announced in four popular roadnames next Spring. Each of these offerings will be available in single car and 4-car configurations in unique car numbers. All are limited in production and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in June 2024.
PROTOTYPE HISTORY
Unlike equipment that carried a variety of loads, like boxcars, flatcars, and gondolas, this 3-bay hopper was designed specifically for one cargo: bituminous coal. Its capacity matched the volume of coal that a pair of typical 70-ton freight trucks could carry. And its slope sheets — the angled floors at either end of the car — were set at precisely the angle at which coal would flow easily from its bottom doors. (Covered grain hoppers, for example, require much steeper slope sheets.)
The large 3-bay car was ideal for delivery of bituminous coal to large industrial customers and railroads. In contrast, cleaner-burning anthracite coal, shipped more commonly to small, local coal dealers who served the home heating market, often traveled in smaller 2-bay hoppers.
Check out each of the offerings below.
