I just saw a BNSF Ballast train. The Hopper cars had solar panels on the sides. what are these panels for and when did they emerge?
I believe they are used to power the actuators that open/close the slide gate at the bottom of the hoppers.
The solar power powers the remote system and solenoids that control the air actuated dump gates.
A track person with a belt pack can dump stone while walking comforably outside the gauge.
it sure beats using a tie and a few comealongs.
That was my guess
Thanks for th info
As to when, you could say that something like this was first used about ten years ago. It first made the trade journals when UP did it, and they quickly retrofitted most of their ballast cars for such dumping (exception: cars used exclusively in wreck-train service, the ex-CNW, nee-RI hoppers). Just about every railroad has cars dumped this way nowadays, and Herzog is doing a pretty good business with its high-speed ballast trains.
If you’re talking about those specific BNSF cars, with two large panels on the sides of the car, they’re a little over a year old now.
I had never seen any solar panels on the sides of any cars until today.