2-Bay Rebuilt War-Emergency Hopper with Load - Ready to Run -- Illinois Central 73552 (1955 Freight Car Red)

Bluford Shops 2-Bay Rebuilt War-Emergency Hoppers are based on cars used for coal and aggregates from WWII into the 1980s. During WWII the cars were constructed with wood sides to conserve steel. Unfortunately, the wood boards were considerably thicker than steel sheet which effectively lowered the cubic capacity of the car. While you could build ten composite hoppers with the steel of nine all-steel hoppers, the lower capacity of the composite cars meant you needed more composite cars to carry the same load! By 1944, wartime steel rationing had abated and steel sides and slope sheets replaced wood although new cars retained their diagonal steel bracing. Following the war, most railroads rebuilt their War Emergency Hoppers cars with steel sides by the mid and late 1950s. Many remained in revenue service into the 1970s and, on some lines such as the Santa Fe, into the 1980s. These ready-to-run cars feature a die cast slope sheet/hopper bay-center sill assembly; injec