01-07-2009, 06:44 PM
40 foot open hoppers would work for gravel. Be careful of the Athearn quad hopper, they were one of the first freight cars Athearn built and are famous for having warped frames out of the box. Gravel is heavier than coal, but lighter than iron ore. Iron ore would be hauled in the shorty MDC ore cars, coal would be hauled in the longer coal hoppers, although in the 1950s they they might have been using shorter 40 or 50 foot hoppers for coal. Because of the weight, sand and gravel is probably still hauled in 40 r 50 foot cars today.