The Pennsy’s GLa class hoppers must surely be one of the most successful freight car designs ever built. The first GLa hoppers were built in 1904. By the time this construction had stopped, the PRR had built nearly 30,000 cars for its own use. These cars had long service lives, with more than 7,000 still in interchange service in 1960. Nearly 200 remained as late as 1965. Many also went into work train service, lasting into the Penn Central era. In addition to the PRR’s fleet, thousands of additional cars were built for independent owners through to 1928. Many of these found their way onto the secondhand market and were purchased by railroads such as the Lehigh Valley, B&O, NYO&W and others. Additional cars were built for several other railroads that were near clones of the GLa design.
