Long Barrel Ore Hopper - Canadian National 346615

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If you stood anywhere on the CN Newmarket Sub in the late 60s through the 80s, you probably saw one of the most unique trains to run the line: the ore train.

This train plied the rails from two mines owned by Dofasco in Northern Ontario to their facility in Hamilton, Ontario. At first glance the cars look like a shrunken cylindrical hopper. The reason for the round shape and covered hatches was to keep the processed iron-ore pellets from becoming frozen or damp with moisture which would slow down the unloading process. The cars also came in two varieties over three orders: a 35’ length “Short” version (built in 1967); and a 42’ “Long” version (delivered in 1973 and 1975 in two groups). This was to reduce rail wear as the 35’ cars spanned the same length as the stick rail underneath. Also unique is the tire that sits over top of each of the roof hatches. At the loadout, the tires come into contact with a “scroll” that forces the hatches to open -- taking 60 seconds to fill each car and roughly an hour and twenty minutes for the entire unit train of 40 cars. More often than not one could see CN and ONR cars mixed in a consist.