RhB Cement Silo Car

Seventy units of various production runs of the type Uc powdered freight silo car were built between 1956 and 1964. The transport of cement took on added importance chiefly due to the construction of power plants in the mountains in the Sixties, since large quantities of cement had to be hauled. A loss of 10% had to be taken into account with the previously customary transport in paper sacks. In addition, there was the time-consuming loading procedure. These cars could take on 15 metric tons of powdered freight – with a weight empty of 8.5 metric tons. They were loaded at a silo directly from above using gravity, unloading was done pneumatically, and the 15 metric tons were unloaded in 15 minutes.