THE NEW BREED OF FREIGHT CARS: A MATERIAL DIFFERENCE

Aluminum, fiberglass-reinforced plastics and high-strength plastics are among materials getting new looks from railroads and other freight-car buyers. The Glasshopper, a covered hopper car with a fiberglass-reinforced polyester body, and Algola, a lightweight unit-train gondola fabricated from Swiss-produced extrusions, are generating new interest in an era of high fuel costs. The new materials are now applied in ways other than simple substitution for steel as has usually been the case in previous freight-car applications.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586268
• Corporate Authors:

  Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

  508 Birch Street
  Bristol, CT  United States  06010
• Publication Date: 1981-5-25

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 26-29
• Serial:
  • Railway Age
  • Volume: 182
  • Issue Number: 10
  • Publisher: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation
  • ISSN: 0033-8826
  • Serial URL: http://www.railwayage.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aluminum alloys; Covered hopper cars; Development; Extrusion; Freight cars; Glass fiber reinforced plastics; Gondola cars; Light vehicles; Motor vehicle bodies; Plastics; Polymers; Research; Vehicle design
• Uncontrolled Terms: Research and development
• Old TRIS Terms: Car body; Freight car design
• Subject Areas: Design; Railroads; Research;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00334950
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 9 1981 12:00AM