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Home > Bethlehem Quad Hopper Prototype
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Prototype Information Page – Bethlehem Quad Hopper
In addition to producing unparalleled scale replicas, one of the primary goals of Tangent Scale Models is to link our scale replicas to their prototypes. We do this by showing prototype photos on our website, so that our customers can compare the two and compare them to each other. We are not afraid of being held to a prototype standard!
For our new Bethlehem Quad Hopper that follows the UP design, we are taking this practice to a new level. Not only will be show roster shots of the real cars on the website, but we want to assemble an in-depth combination of the hoppers working throughout the US in trains. This means action shots, switch lists, and other sources of documentation. Please let us know if you have something to contribute here! And don’t forget, we offer these beautiful models in HO Scale. Go ahead and splurge on a few or a train for yourself!
These cars represent UP’s largest fleet of coal hoppers in company history. First produced in 1974 by Bethlehem Steel as UP class H-100-10, production of a majority of the fleet occurred in UP’s Albina Shops in Portland OR between 1976 and 1981. Production of this important fleet ended with the H-100-23 class, after UP placed more than 6,400 of these “quad” hoppers in service in the rapidly-growing Western low-sulfur coal market. These cars became the workhorses of the UP coal fleet, serving coal originations in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and the Powder River Basin, and sometimes on non-UP coal originations such as DRGW, Utah, and Wyoming & Colorado (former UP branchline). The DRGW origins became part of Union Pacific in 1996, and to this day these mines continue to load these UP quad hoppers!
UP’s quad hoppers wandered both systemwide and to offline railroads as customers sourced coal from a variety of origins. A sample destination to the west that received coal in these hoppers was Southern California’s Kaiser Steel located in Fontana CA, as well as the bulk export terminal at San Pedro. Trains of quad hoppers for these customers operated over Cajon Pass with various motive power groupings, most notably mixed DRGW and UP power (plus helpers). A few sample eastern gateways in early years were the Commonwealth Edison Co. power plants at Waukegan IL and Hammond IN, Kansas City Power & Light at Kansas City MO, Illinois Central destinations for TVA in Kentucky, not to mention Eastern and Midwestern carriers both in carload (sourced for cement and other production purposes) and unit train services. These quad hoppers continue to serve, operating to customers without dedicated bank-owned coal sets, as well as services literally anywhere when customers in North America want to increase coal deliveries from UP sources. Finally, the quad hoppers have been spotted in non-coal services such as miscellaneous aggregates, coke, and sugar beet services.
On this page we have included an updated gallery of prototype photos to show you each paint scheme in service, a free service from Tangent Scale Models. We believe that an educated customer is a happy customer. . All images below can be enlarged.
View Our HO Scale Replicas = Bethlehem-design UP Quad Hopper
Photo Gallery - Bethlehem-design UP Quad Hoppers in Union Pacific locales
*click photos to enlarge
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First, here is a shot of both freight car red (Tangent scheme #1) and black and yellow (Tangent scheme #2) original paint UP quad hoppers waiting for loading in Cheyenne WY in either late 1978 or 1979.
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Next is an example photo from 1980, where a trainload of original paint black and yellow quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #2) are rolling on the UP mainline Eastbound at Buda NE behind a trio of GEs.
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Due to its proximity to a major metropolitan area, perhaps no locale is better documented than the UP quads moving across Cajon Pass to the Port of LA and San Pedro and Kaiser Steel in Fontana. The varied locomotive consists with power belonging to UP and/or DRGW, as well as helpers from UP or ATSF, made these trains unforgettable. Today these trains still ply Cajon. In 1975, a shot of combined DRGW and UP power haul a train of UP freight car red quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #1) over Cajon Pass. You have the locomotives from the other guys. Now you can have the cars!
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Following up on the above image, here is another one from the Cajon Pass area. This image shows a coal train descending Cajon Pass just to the west of Summit. This is a train of export coal. Note the mixed hoppers in the train, including the Tangent Scale Models UP quad hoppers.
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One example of UP quad hoppers being used for non-coal shipments was the use of sugar beets within the Pacific Northwest. A Mainline Modeler article from 1995 by Thorton Waite described the operation, and showed the UP quad hoppers in action. Pictured are original paint cars (Tangent scheme #1).
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In the 1980s, before UP absorbed the C&NW, trains including UP H-100-XX cars (Tangent Scheme 1 and 2), C&NW 100Ton 3-bay cars, and some MoPac/CEI cars ran from Omaha to the Twin Cities via the "Old Omaha" and then Itasca as symbol ITCUS and CUITS. For a period, the trains were running north to Duluth/Superior loaded with coal, washed out at Itasca yard, then ran back west loaded with taconite. Power was from UP (SD40-2s, U30Cs and C30-7s), C&NW (SD40-2s, SD40s, SD45s, both originals and 2nd hand), but also saw occasional Conrail units, including SDP45s, SD40-2s, blue SD40s and one black Conrail SD40!
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In 2001, two UP C44ACs are near the St.Louis River Bridge at Steelton, MN. This is a train of all-rail ore empties UP is delivering to Steelton and the DM&IR crew will eventually climb on board and use the run-thru engines to take train to Minntac to load pellets, then return it to UP. So here is a case of cars being used on DMIR! While the consist is mixed hoppers, note that the second car in the train is a “double rotary” car (Tangent scheme #3). Don’t forget Tangent Scale Models offers two double rotary cars!
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In recent years, some UP quads have been utilized in company MOW service. Here is a shot of an original paint red UP quad hopper (Tangent scheme #1) hauling used railroad ties. Please see here.
Bethlehem-design UP Quad Hoppers in offline locales
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This montage of switch lists and snapshot document the very regular offline move of UP coal from the Hanna Basin to railroad partner Illinois Central Gulf. These UP quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #1) were loaded for the Illinois Electric Power plant at Baldwin IL, and were routed to Kansas City via UP where they were delivered to ICG. This move still happens today using these same hoppers, although the coal originates on the former DRGW.
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In 1980, an Alco RSD-4 is the subject of the image at Provo UT, with a set of red UP quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #1) in the background. Please see here.
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In 1988, a set of 3 CNW SD40-2s pull a set of UP black quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #2) past Dayton’s Bluff MN, just outside St. Paul. Photographer unknown; please email us.
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Also in 1988, a pair of Chicago Central GP-10s have just received a set of Union Pacific quad hoppers (Tangent scheme #2) for delivery to either a barge transload on the Mississippi River, or a power plant in Chicago.
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Operating in general manifest service – not in unit trains – here is a link to a UP quad hopper offline on CSXT in recent years, in OH, IN, and MI. UP quads have been cited far and wide in offline applications such as this. Please see coke service (Tangent scheme #1) , empty and aggregate service.
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In 2006, two UP C44ACs are far from UP rails at Pittsburgh PA with a train of export coal loaded in Colorado on the former DRGW/SP. The train includes many UP quad hoppers (Tangent schemes 1-9). These trains ran all the way to Curtis Bay in the Port of Baltimore as CSX U839, later U830. UP interchanged the train over to CSX at East St. Louis, where it ran offline through Indiana and Ohio to Pittsburgh (pictured here), south over Sand Patch to Cumberland, Brunswick, and then over the B&O Main Line to Baltimore.
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