Conrail society, Danbury museum combine to save hopper car

DANBURY, Conn. — The Conrail Historical Society and Danbury (Ct.) Railway Museum have combined to preserve a “Flexi-Flo” hopper car built in 1966 for the New York Central by ACF Industries.

One of 220 such cars, the order represented the first pressure differential cars constructed, which allowed easy unloading of the contents by applying air pressure inside of the car. Usually used for cement or other dry bulk goods, the cars helped recapture business railroads had lost to trucks, and introduced technology widely used today on hopper cars.

The 46-foot car subsequently passed to Penn Central, Conrail, and CSX Transportation before Conrail Historical Society volunteers inquired about saving the car. Following two years of negotiations and planning, CSX agreed to donate the car; the society then arranged its transportation to the Danbury Railway Museum, and donated it to the museum to ensure its long-term preservation.

“We’re pleased that this collaboration has resulted in saving a one-of-a-kind artifact,” Rudy Garbely, president of The Conrail Historical Society, said in a press release. “This hopper is an extremely rare and worthy candidate for long-term preservation, and the volunteers at both organizations have made an extraordinary commitment and effort to get it saved.” Danbury Railway Museum President Jose Alves said, “The pioneering technology behind the Flexi-Flo’s design and its rarity made this car a prime candidate for preservation. While we can’t save every piece of railroad rolling stock from the scrapper’s torch, we were very excited to play a role in preserving this car.”

The museum is now seeking donations to help restore the car and return it to the Conrail scheme it wore for more than 40 of its 55 years in service; donation information is available here.