VersaCoil™ Steel Coil Cars

Joining our "FreightCar Stars" portfolio are the VersaCoil™ Steel Coil Cars, named for their loading versatility. FreightCar America offers a five, seven and nine transverse trough design with an optional lightweight insulated aluminum or steel cover. The VersaCoil works equally well in transporting small, medium, or large size coils up to 84" in diameter, weighing as much as 50 tons per coil.

Loading Flexibility:

• The VersaCoil is the only coil car on the market capable of carrying two 48” sheet width coils in one trough and an 84” outside diameter coil in the end troughs.
• The five trough design creates an opportunity to load up to 10 small coils per shipment.  Two of the troughs are sized to accommodate coils between 30 and 84-inches in diameter, with the other three troughs able to hold coils from 30 to 74-inches in diameter.
• The seven trough design focuses on carrying up to 14 small coils per load.
• The nine trough design carries smaller coils that are typically transported by truck.
• For shipments of coils not requiring a cover, customers can load from the side without need for an overhead crane.

Reduce Time and Expense to Load:

• Absence of bulkheads permits a single crane operator to load a VersaCoil.

Minimize in-transit damage to steel coils:

• Absence of moveable bulkheads minimizes edge damage.
• The coils' transverse orientation to the direction of rail travel and the transverse design hugs coils to minimize telescoping.

Cost effective:

• Customers will experience less damage and railroad out-of-service time for bulkhead repairs because the unique VersaCoil design eliminates the need for coil restraints.
• Depending on sheet width and weight per coil, the
  • Five-trough has an estimated 226,000 pound load limit and is designed to carry up to 10 coils per carload.
  • Seven-trough has an estimated 223,000 pound load limit and is designed to carry up to 14 coils per carload.
  • Nine-trough has an estimated 200,000 pound load limit and is designed to carry up to 36 small coils per carload.
• The VersaCoil does not require extra materials to separate and pin coils, as do traditional longitudinal coil cars.

• The short length of the VersaCoil is comparable to the shortest longitudinal design now on the market and features significantly greater capacity to handle small coils.