Beginning in the late 50s, wood chips went from something to be disposed of to a valuable commodity. Since wood chips are less dense than coal, gravel and other hopper loads, many railroads added high extensions to standard hoppers for this service. The extentions were simple affairs, either rib sided or flat sided that were welded to the top chords of standard hoppers. Like our coal hoppers, these N scale models will come ready-to-run with knuckle couplers, and loads.. First draft artwork is show here and is subject to improvement by our crack research staff!

Canadian National Offset Side Wood Chip Hopper with Flat Side Extensions. Canadian National also modified standard offset side hoppers for wood chip service in the mid-60s however, their extensions were made largely of plywood with steel reinforcing around the edges. Despite that, the cars were relativly long lived due in large part to the fact that wood chips are far less abrasive than other types of hopper loads