Tim:

Corten steel was a proprietary trade mark of US Steel. This was a speciality steel which was self protecting in that in rusting it formed a skin of iron oxide that bonded with the surface of the steel and sealed it preventing further rusting. The first use of Cor-Ten steel in a freight car was by the B&O in 1934. Cor-ten is a high strength steel and allowed the construction of cars with approximately 8% less weight from the steel components. The debate is does the weight savings warrant the significant increase in the cost of construction.

Rich Orr

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Gilbert <tgilbert@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 09:53:29 -0400
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Walthers 34' PS 3 Coal Hopper

<snip>

The series was described as "Hopper,
Corten Steel" - that steel I believe was a Pullman-Standard proprietary
product.
<snip>