Rapido Trains Inc. N AutoFlood III RD Coal Hopper BNSF Wedge #2 (6)

Coal. Black Diamonds.rThis important commodity is best transported across the country by rail. That’s where the AutoFloodrIII rapid discharge hopper car enters the conversation.rProduction began on these all-aluminum body railcars in 2004. What followed was thousandsrof orders for these rapid discharge hoppers, which have traversed almost all of North America.rWith millions of tons of coal per year being mined and hauled out of various locations across thercontinent, you would be hard pressed to not have seen one of these prototype cars in a modernrday coal train..This 4200 cubic foot, exterior post prototype (not to be confused with other types of prototyperexterior-post or interior post models) is primarily used as a rapid discharge car, which can unloadrtheir cargo in a matter of seconds via the bottom bay doors. However, the car can also berequipped with a rotary coupler at the A end of the car (or on both ends on double-rotary cars),ras indicated by the color blocks on the cars’ ends, for either bottom discharge or rotary unloadingrbased on the infrastructure at the final processing facility.