Bluford Shops 63154 N Lehigh Valley 2-Bay War Emergency Composite Hopper #15789

These 2-Bay War Emergency Composite Hopper cars were built during the Second World War with wood siding and slope sheets at the direction of the War Production Board in hopes of saving as much steel as possible for the war effort. 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.

These ready-to-run N scale cars feature: 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; removeable load; body mounted magnetically operating knuckle couplers; close coupling; and metal wheels.

Lehigh Valley had this group of 500 hoppers built by Bethlehem Steel in 1943. This group followed the official “War Emergency” design which the 1942 delivery from Bethlehem did not. The earlier cars had the same Pratt truss design but were about two and a half feet shorter. The war effort did not slow the push for higher capacity freight cars. This run will be available in four new road numbers.

Note: Pictures may be of another Road Number.