Maybe I'm not very observant, or maybe I've just not had too many chances to view trains from bridges. I always thought that hopper cars were totally open inside, that is to say, that there was no significant interior bracing. But I just had a chance to view these coke hoppers and noticed that they all had diagonal bracing inside, and that some had horizontal bracing in addition. Is this typical of hoppers, or just because these coke hoppers are so high sided? Thanks Ed .
Very typical, the bracing is needed to keep the sides from buckling under load. Some are extravagant like the coke hoppers you showed, with horizontal crossties, some are simply two diagonal members per side... some older two-bays just used triangular sheets instead.
