Open Hopper, 4-Bay Bethlehem 3600

History: These cars represent UP’s largest fleet of coal hoppers in company history. First produced in 1974 by Bethlehem Steel as UP class H-100-10, production of a majority of the fleet occurred in UP’s Albina Shops in Portland OR between 1976 and 1981. Production of this important fleet ended with the H-100-23 class, after UP placed more than 6,400 of these “quad” hoppers in service in the rapidly-growing Western low-sulfur coal market. These cars became the workhorses of the UP coal fleet, serving coal originations in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and the PowderRiver Basin, and sometimes on non-UP coal originations such as DRGW, Utah, and Wyoming & Colorado (former UP branchline). The DRGW origins became part of Union Pacific in 1996, and to this day these mines continue to load these UP quad hoppers!UP’s quad hoppers wandered both systemwide and to offline railroads as customers sourced coal from a variety of origins.

A sample destination to the west that received coal in these hoppers was Southern California’s Kaiser Steel located in FontanaCA, as well as the bulk export terminal at San Pedro. Trains of quad hoppers for these customers operated over CajonPass with various motive power groupings, most notably mixed DRGW and UP power (plus helpers). A few sample eastern gateways in early years were the Commonwealth Edison Co. power plants at Waukegan IL and Hammond IN, Kansas City Power & Light at Kansas City MO, Illinois Central destinations for TVA in Kentucky, not to mention Eastern and Midwestern carriers both in carload (sourced for cement and other production purposes) and unit train services. These quad hoppers continue to serve, operating to customers without dedicated bank-owned coal sets, as well as services literally anywhere when customers in North America want to increase coal deliveries from UP sources. Finally, the quad hoppers have been spotted in non-coal services such as miscellaneous aggregates, coke, and sugar beet services.On this page we have included an updated gallery of prototype photos to show you some of the major paint schemes in service, a free service from Tangent Scale Models. We believe that an educated customer is a happy customer. All images below can be enlarged.

Railroad/Company: The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success and productivity, the company was a symbol of American manufacturing leadership in the world, and its decline and ultimate liquidation in the late 20th century is similarly cited as an example of America's diminished manufacturing leadership. From its founding in 1857 through its 2003 dissolution, Bethlehem Steel's headquarters were based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. Its primary steel mill manufacturing facilities were first located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and later expanded to include a major research laboratory in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and plants in Sparrows Point, Maryland, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna, New York, and its final and largest site in Burns Harbor, Indiana.