Can someone point me to a web site list of U.S. rail car manufacturers that produce new covered hoppers? Also, is there a similar list of companies that deal in sales of used covered hoppers? Finally, what seems to be the average price for a used covered hopper vs. a new one? Thank you.
bgreen,
You can search the following railcar manufacturers websites, get the contact information, and try to get a response to your question. If your inquiry is not deemed serious, you’ll probably not get a response.
The Greenbrier Companies -
http://www.gbrx.com/page.php?view=HOPPER_CARS
Trinity -
http://www.trinityrailcar.com/products/index.html
Freight Car America (formerly Johnstown America) has a couple of used covered hoppers for sale or lease -
http://www.johnstownamerica.com/products/lsg_descriptions.htm
National Steel Car -
http://www.steelcar.com/products.html
There’s also leasing companies, like GE Capital Rail Services -
http://www.ge.com/capital/rail/equipment/cvdhop/chgeninfo.shtml
There’s a bunch of railcar leasing firms, you might want to search them on your own.
Everybody seems to forget about ACF and ARI
http://www.acfindustries.com/
http://www.americanrailcar.com/ari_web/
If you have a market it has been possible to gather a bunch of Doctors and Dentists to invest in shares of an equipment trust. The cars carry a depretiaton value that has been attractive to individuals in higher tax brackets. You may have to overcome the bad taste left from the fall out of the IPD boxcar melt down but memories are short sometimes. Don’t expect any favors from the railroads that want you to use their cars even though they are delinquent in providing them for loading.
Alan