Gunderson 3250 Covered Hopper

Prototype Information

The Greenbrier Companies introduced the Gunderson 3250 cubic-foot covered hopper in late 2009. Greenbrier engineered this short, two-compartment car to transport dense, high-weight commodities like cement, fly ash, and roofing granules. The design utilizes curved sides and a robust through-center sill, adapting structural elements from the builder’s larger grain hoppers into a compact footprint. This specialized capacity allows the car to reach its maximum rail weight limit exactly as the physical volume fills, optimizing gravity-discharge unloading for heavy mineral payloads.

Production exploded between 2010 and 2012 to meet the demands of the North American shale boom. The rapid expansion of hydraulic fracturing created an urgent need for “frac sand,” prompting railroads and private fleets to buy thousands of these two-bay hoppers. Early production models featured four 30-inch roof hatches and 10-post running board supports. Greenbrier later standardized the car to a three-hatch configuration with 9-post supports before production ended around 2018. Today, the versatile 3250 remains a staple of industrial rail fleets across North America.