I’m just curious…What do airslide hoppers generally haul? Being a railfan and a model railroader, I should know…but my IQ on some things can be low.
Thanks in advance.
I dont know. A check of my walthers airslides show: Flour, Seeds, Powders etc…
I have a set of airslides that haul sugar, agricultural feed and flour as needed. Another set handles grain related items.
Ditto on above, usually any fine material that can be “liqufied” by presenting air to make the product come out. I don’t think corn would work, but I would think sand and similar material. They have a fabric on the inside that has little holes that introduce air that helps separate the material to flow. I remember working at a gluten plant that had airslide hoppers, they had a vibrator type device that helped shake the stuff down, but also remember they always hit the car side with a large sledge hammer too to get that last bit out, even though it said on the side of the car not too [;)]
Airslide covered hoppers were used primarily to haul finely granulated-think
powdered-commodities like flour, sugar or yeast. Airslides were specialized
equipment that were really popular with shippers for food products. This is
because unlike regular covered hoppers, an Airslide could be completely
sealed thereby eliminating the chance of contamination of the lading.
Airslides, because of this specialization, would usually be found in some
kind of captive service, such as between a flour mill and a baked goods
manufacturer. Hope this helps.
I’ve seen airslide hoppers sitting on the siding at an Owens-Corning fiberglass plant that manufactures hot tubs, located near Eloy, Arizona. They receive the raw fiberglass in powdered form by the trainload from somewhere, and there is a greenish powder covering the ground around the unloading terminal.
I’m certain these hoppers are dedicated to only the transport of fiberglass, because residue in the hopper could easily contaminate any type of other material such as flour or sugar.