5820 Covered Hopper

Prototype Information

The P-S 5820cf covered hopper proved to be a popular design, with a large number built for a number of private owners, as well as Pullman-Standard’s lease fleet, between 1971 and 1982. While the oldest 5820 cars have been withdrawn from interchange service by now, having reached their 40-year age limit, cars built after July 1st, 1974 are allowed 50 years of service, and up to 65 years if they meet “Increased Service Life” criteria. And like most car designs, the 5820s have exhibited changes over their service lives, mostly to their hatches and outlets.

As-built, most were equipped with P-S / ITEL Corp. proprietary “Micro-Matic” pneumatic outlets and either “Mon-o-Wheel” or “Tri-Wheel” roof hatches. As these components wore out, they would often be replaced by aftermarket replacements, such as Salco-brand Kam-Op pneumatic outlets. Salco also offers a popular line of replacement hatches for these cars, either plain or vented, which helps negate the need for personnel to climb onto the car running boards to open hatches for venting while unloading.

Operationally, they tended to congregate in petrochemical production regions waiting for loading (e.g., the Texas “Chemical Coast”), but were – and still are – seen traveling nationwide in singles or in blocks of cars heading to production facilities for items ranging from plastic milk jugs to fiberglass panels. Interestingly, they can also be seen staged at plastics logistics yards where huge blocks of loaded plastics hoppers are parked, with pellets bought and unloaded as needed onsite by the customer using tractor-pneumatic tank trailer rigs, essentially making the cars rolling warehouses.