Wooden Hopper Gondola No. 1818
Why it's listed
A wooden hopper gondola built in 1895 for the Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railroad, car No. 1818 is a Class GG freight car used to haul coal and other bulk commodities. The Class GG design, adopted in 1895, is recorded as the first self-cleaning hopper car. Its hoppers have floors set at a 30 degree angle, which the Pennsylvania Railroad's 1946 history gives as the present slope for coal hoppers. The car has an inside length of 27 feet 7 inches and a nominal capacity of 70,000 pounds. It belongs to the wooden era of American railroad freight cars, which lasted from 1830 to 1897. Thousands of cars of this type once operated, but few remain. The nomination treats it as one of the only surviving examples of its type, and as a genuine car rather than a replica, which is why it was listed as part of a rolling stock group.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the car is a representative example of the wooden freight car era, which ran from about 1830 to 1897, and that it is one of only a few surviving examples of thousands that once carried coal and bulk goods. It cites the Class GG design, adopted in 1895, as the first self-cleaning hopper car. The document describes all cars in the group as genuine rather than replicas.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79002284, listed December 17, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E of Strasburg, Strasburg |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | December 17, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002284 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Invention |
| Level of significance | National |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 39.98242, -76.16077 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79002284.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.