2-Bay War-Emergency Composite Hopper with Coal Load - Ready to Run -- Nickel Plate Road 31716 (black, NYC&St.L Markings)

Bluford Shops 2-Bay War-Emergency Composite Hoppers are based on cars used for coal and aggregates from WWII into the 1970s. At the direction of the War Production Board in hopes of saving as much steel as possible for the war effort, these composite (steel and wood) cars were built during the Second World War with wood siding and slope sheets. This was especially the case with hoppers that were usually built with copper-bearing steel to resist corrosion. The car sides were built with the Pratt truss design using a combination of vertical and diagonal ribs. A majority were later rebuilt with steel replacing the wood components but some composite cars remained in service into the 1970s. These ready-to-run 2-Bay War-Emergency Composite Hopper N Scale replicas feature a die cast slope sheet/hopper bay-center sill assembly; injection molded plastic sides, ends, and hopper doors; fully molded brake tank, valve and air lines; body mounted brake hose detail; load; body-mou