70 Ton Hart Ballast Hopper

Prototype Information

The 70-ton Hart ballast hopper originated in the early 20th century, designed by the Hart Convertible Car Company and later built by companies like American Car & Foundry. Railroads used these hoppers to haul and precisely dump ballast along the track. The cars featured center and side discharge doors, allowing crews to control where ballast landed—either between or outside the rails.

Unlike earlier flatcars or gondolas used for ballast, Hart hoppers streamlined the process with quicker, more targeted unloading. Most versions rode on two-axle trucks and had a riveted steel body. By mid-century, larger and more modern ballast cars replaced them, but many Hart hoppers remained in maintenance-of-way service into the 1960s and beyond.