010902 Covered hoppers.

Ernest H. Robl stock photos: Railroad freight cars and railroad freight loads Click on the images to view a larger version with a more detailed caption. The numbers preceding the captions are the file numbers of the original transparencies.

010904 Tank cars.

Photography of railroads is a major specialty. In addition to depicting trains and locomotives, I also photograph many technical details of railroading and other transportation sectors.

These are only a few sample images; many more railroad subjects are available. Please e-mail or call for additional information.

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Above: Highway trailers on all-purpose articulated spine cars. To save tare weight, these intermodal cars do not have a full deck. Rather, there is a deck area only in the areas where the trailer wheels rest and a retractable fifth-wheel hitch. The spine cars also have pedestals with twist-locks for intermodal containers, but they cannot carry double-stacked containers because on these cars, two containers would be too high to fit even the extended clearances which otherwise permit double-stacked containers in well cars. A container pedestal can be seen at left in the left photo above.

Left: 960865 Intermodal train with highway trailers crossing the Muir Trestle in California.

Above 990966 Aluminum bodied dual-use coal hoppers. Left 990755 Aluminum bodied gondola coal cars.

There are two basic types of railcars used for transporting coal: gondolas and hoppers. Gondolas, sometimes also nicknamed "bathtub" cars, do not have bottom discharge equipment. Instead, the area between the wheels contains a bay or bays that hold additional coal. Gondolas can only be emptied with rotary dump equipment at their destination. These cars are typically equipped with rotary couplers that allow the cars to be rotated for dumping without having to be uncoupled. Hopper cars, on the other hand, do have discharge gates on the bottom. However, some hopper cars are also equipped with rotary couplers, allowing them to be emptied that way at destinations equipped with rotary dumpers. Rotary dumpers work more quickly and efficiently, particularly in freezing weather, when moisture may cause coal in the cars to freeze and clog the discharge gates.

Most modern coal cars have aluminum bodies to reduce the tare weight, thus allowing them to carry more coal without exceeding the car weight limits on most lines.

For additional sample images of coal cars in use, please see my Powder River Basin pages.

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Double-stacked containers on multi-platform articulated well cars. Well cars gain additional clearance height by placing the lower container or containers in a "well" between the wheels, with the bottom just inches above the top of the rail. For additional sample images of intermodal container equipment, please see my Intermodal Container FAQ page.

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Covered cylindrical hoppers on a west-bound grain train over Marias Pass in Montana, headed for a West Coast port. Covered hoppers are used to a variety of moisture- or contamination-sensitive bulk products, ranging from grains to cement and a variety of powdered chemicals, such as carbon black. Covered hoppers are normally dedicated to a specific type of service to avoid cross-contamination of the products carried.

This page is still a work in progress. I plan to add additional freight car images as I have time.

For additional railroad images, see the general Railroad page, which contains links to many additional pages on specific aspects of railroading. Or, select Pictures by category.

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