A hopper car, or a cement hopper, as it is also called, is a special car whose main purpose is to transport bulk materials for the construction industry. Since currently industry, construction and production are developing quite rapidly, and they consume even more resources, the delivery of goods by rail is one of the necessary things.
General description of hoppers
A hopper wagon is a common name that combines many different models of this vehicle. There is a more detailed classification of these devices. They are classified according to their purpose, as well as the type of cargo that they are capable of delivering. If we talk about construction, here the most common are hoppers-wagons designed for transportation of cement. Raw materials are transported in bulk, not in packages in which it can be purchased in special stores.
Wagons for the transport of cement
The main reason that such types of devices for the delivery of goods were chosen was the fact that they have a self-loading function. The presence of this property significantly speeds up the process of loading material, and also increases the productivity of this operation. The appearance of the hopper car designed for transporting cement strongly resembles a hopper mounted on a railway. The shape of the car is made in such a way that it resembles a funnel. The unloading process is also quite simple. Below the car there are hatches through which the material is unloaded. The most convenient thing is that upon arrival at the place the hatches of the hopper-car open automatically, and their location helps to unload the material spontaneously. This is a great way, since the material has a rather large weight and under its own gravity will quickly leave the car.
Wagon design
The convenience of loading and unloading a hopper car, the general parameters of these models are achieved largely due to the fact that they have an extremely simple and convenient structural part. It is very important to note that the walls of cement trucks are located in such a way that they create a conical shape, which also has a certain angle. This angle of inclination of the walls of the cars can vary from 41 to 60 degrees. Most often, a change in this parameter is due to the model of the car itself, as well as its size. It is also important to note here that it is precisely due to the presence of a certain angle and the conical shape of this car that there is the possibility of comfortable spontaneous unloading. The gravity of the cement will push it out without any problems. Fast gravity ensures productive and efficient unloading.
Car parameters
If we talk about the characteristics of the hopper car for cement, it is important to add something else. Today, there are two types of cement truck, which differ from each other in one function - the method of unloading bulk materials. The first group of cars unloads directly between the rails. The second category carries out this procedure aside from the railway tracks.
There is also a division into two types according to the method of opening hatches for unloading. Automated models of hopper cars include those that have pneumatics, through which the hatch is opened. Mechanical models require human intervention in this process. In other words, you have to open the hatch manually.
Another small difference that does not affect the performance of the car, but still takes place, is the open and closed types. Everything is quite simple here, open-type models are not equipped with a roof, and closed-type models have a surface coating. This does not affect the choice of the model of the car that will deliver the raw materials, since the only important parameters are the composition, characteristics and properties of the cargo itself. For these three points, a cement truck is selected.
Using different types of wagons
Since there are several different types of hoppers, it is worth knowing in which situation each of them is used. So, for example, closed-type models are most often used in cases where it is necessary to deliver materials such as cement, grain, some types of technical carbon mixtures. In other words, when it is necessary to transport material that can deteriorate if it falls under the influence of precipitation.
With open-type models, of course, the opposite is true. They are used to deliver goods that are not affected by precipitation, if any. The feasibility of having different types of cars is that the cost of open cars is slightly lower than closed ones. This means that if the company delivers those types of goods that are not afraid of rainfall, it is better to save some amount of material resources and buy open wagons.
Models with dispensers
A hopper car with a dispenser is an improved model of a regular car. Naturally, the main difference between such a machine and a conventional one is that it is equipped with an unloading and batching device. Such a small change in design led to the fact that the device turned into a very efficient machine, which is actively used in construction, reconstruction, as well as in all types of repair work on railways. It is also very important to note that the raw materials that are transported in this type of car must have a certain fraction of grains. The grain sizes of the cargo should be in the range from 0.5 to 70 millimeters. The most common hopper model with dispenser was 19-9953.
The advantage of using such models also lies in the fact that they help to avoid overloading at bases or warehouses. In addition, the operation of such wagons has led to a significant reduction in the need for manual labor. Unloading material using a pneumatic device, that is, a pump, is carried out quite quickly and efficiently.