Open Hopper, 3-Bay PS-3 2750

History: During the 1950s, Pullman-Standard began to develop a “standardized” line of freight car product types that were marketed in “families”. Starting with the PS-1 boxcars and PS-2 covered hoppers, the PS-3 was rolled out with several offerings, the most prolific being this 70-ton, 3-outlet coal hopper with a cubic capacity of 2750 cubic feet. First purchased in 1957, Pullman-Standard not only had an effective marketing message with the “PS” series, but developed simultaneous production capability at both its Bessemer AL and Butler PA manufacturing plants, providing customers with a rapid response for coal hoppers that were produced at a rate of more than 13 cars per weekday during peak supply. Such rapid-production was made possible by new welding techniques that arose from the World War II period, although this was a relatively new innovation for open hoppers at the time.

Buyers for the PS-3 hoppers varied widely across US freight car buyers – in other words Class I railroads. The largest purchaser of the PS-3 was Louisville and Nashville, who settled on Pullman-Standard produced 2 and 3 bay hoppers as their fleet standard for coal originations prior to the 1970s. While they placed several orders for PS-3 hoppers, for a total of more than 8,000 cars(!), here is an example of one of the cars from the L&N 1959 order wearing fresh factory paint, where the cars from that period carried the “Dixie Line” paint that lasted into the 1980s.

Railroad/Company: The Pullman Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Its workers initially lived in a planned worker community (or "company town") named Pullman, Chicago. Pullman developed the sleeping car, which carried his name into the 1980s. Pullman did not just manufacture the cars: he also operated them on most of the railroads in the United States, paying railroad companies to couple the cars to trains. The labor union associated with the company, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which was founded and organized by A. Philip Randolph, was one of the most powerful African-American political entities of the 20th century. The company also built thousands of streetcars and trolley buses for use in cities.