Designed and manufactured by the East Broad Top Railroad in their Orbisonia shops, the 3-Bay Hopper was built to enable the railroad to efficiently haul more tonnage of coal than was possible in their existing 2-Bay Hoppers. Today, many examples remain on the East Broad Top, seeing use on demonstration freights or maintenance trains, while a large number have found a second life further afield. From Colorado to Alaska, and even as far as Hawaii, the EBT 3-Bay Hopper can be found primarily in ballast service, helping to restore and maintain the right of way on numerous historic narrow gauge lines.