12-29-2009, 06:37 PM
Triplex Wrote:The question is, what do you want covered hoppers for? They were common for sand and cement in the transition era. However, grain moved mainly bagged in 40' boxcars. The changeover of that traffic to 3- and 4-bay covered hoppers began in the 60s, and lasted until the 90s in some places.
You're right about covered hoppers being not all that common for grain movement in the '50s, but the stuff in boxcars was usually in-bulk - that is to say, loose. Stuff like flour and sugar may have been bagged, though, and it moved in boxcars, too.
Carl, I think that Triplex is referring to the changeover from boxcars to covered hoppers lasting, in some places, into the '90s. Obviously, covered hoppers still abound.
Wayne