WP 10649 is a ballast car and is known as a “Selective Hopper”. Ballast is the gravel or coarse stone used to form the bed of a railroad track. The term “selective” is applied to hoppers that can open either single or multiple gates to unload the ballast. This car was built in 1953 by the Pullman Company.
It is 36 feet long with an internal length of 30 feet 9 inches. The car could carry up to 1,663 cubic feet of ballast with a maximum load of 171,000 lbs.
WP 10649 was donated to the museum by Union Pacific Railroad in 1986.
