3-bay Open Hoppers

From 1976 until the early 1990s, when bathtub gons and new 4-bay hoppers began showing up, 3-bay hoppers were the backbone of Conrail's coal-hauling fleet. Conrail inherited thousands of them from predecessor roads, and also purchased many new classes of cars to replace aging 70-ton hoppers.

Class H1A

The H1A class of hoppers was built by the N&W between 4/78-1/79 as CR 486801-487300. Cars are rated at 100 tons, 3570 cuft, & 50ft long.

Class H1B

Conrail rostered 2830 Class H1B triple hoppers, built by Bethlehem Steel's Johnstown plant between May 1978-November 1979. Cars were number as CR 487301-489800 & 490801-490875.

Class H1C

Conrail's H1C class was constructed by Pullman-Standard from October-December 1978, and could be seen in both coal and ore service throughout the years. Car were numbered as CR 489801-490800.

Class H1D

Class H1E

Class H1G

Conrail's H1G class was built by the Chessie at their Raceland, KY shops. 130 H1Gs were equipped with the ill-fated Hopper Toppers and given the AAR designation HTR so they could alternate between coal and grain service as-needed. While the program was not a success, it is a testament to Conrail's resourcefulness.

Class H1L

Class H1L is a group of cars Conrail purchased from the ATSF sometime in the early 1990s.

The H37G class was a group of 70-ton hoppers the PC rebuilt in 1970 to become PC 459371-459832. They carried this number series onto Conrail.

Class H39

The H39 class was built by ACF to a design jointly done by the PRR and C&O. The PRR originally rostered around 10,000 of these cars, and Conrail retained thousands of them well into the 1980s.

Class H39A

The PRR began building a fleet of more than 6000 H39A 70-ton hoppers in 1962, many of which were conveyed to PC and Conrail.

Class H39B

ex PC/PRR

Class H43

Conrail's H43s were 100-ton clones of a N&W triple hopper design, with over 2000 built starting in 1964.

Class H43A

The H43A subclass was built at Hollidaysburg using components supplied by Bethlehem Steel-Johnstown.

Class H43B

The H43B subclass was built at Hollidaysburg using components supplied by Bethlehem Steel-Johnstown.

Class H43C

The H43C class was assembled by Bethlehem in Johnstown starting in 1967.

Class H43D

The H43D class was assembled by Bethlehem Steel at Johnstown,PA for the PC in 1971.

ex-EL.

ex EL

ex-EL.

The HR1A class of hoppers were built by the Reading at their Reading PA shops as RDG 41250-41649 in 1966. These cars were renumbered into the CR 481582-483757 series. The series is not solid as cars were renumbered around other cars also joining the fleet. The car are rated at 100 tons, 3418 cuft & 48ft 8in long.

Class HR1B

The HR1B class of hoppers were built by Bethlehem Steel at Johnstown PA as RDG 41650-41849 in 1971. RDG 41775-41849 were transferred to the D&H in 4/76 and became D&H 9701-9775. The remaining 121 cars became CR 483758-483879. The cars are rated at 100 tons, 3433 cuft & are 48ft 8in long.

Class HR1C

The HR1C class of hoppers were built by Bethlehem Steel at Johnstown PA in 1962 as RDG 40001-40400. Cars were renumbered into the CR 479025-481377 series. Series is not solid as cars were renumbered around PC H43C's and H43D's joining the fleet. Cars are rated at 85 tons, 2868 cuft & are 48ft 8in long.

Class HR1D

The HR1D class of hoppers were built by Bethlehem Steel at Johnstown PA in late 1975 as RDG 483501-484600. Cars were to become CR 483882-485056, but being built so close to the creation of Conrail, many would carry their big RDG reporting marks throughout Conrail. Cars are rated at 100 tons, 3487 cuft & 48ft 8in long.