I’m curious whether there was an industry-wide ‘standard’ or even rule-of-thumb for numbering locomotives and cars on any given line, particularly the SL’s. It seems obvious that a large carrier would need numbers for paperwork, but what of the small outfits that had perhaps fifty or so pieces altogether?
Were there classifications, like engines numbered 1,2, & 3, boxcars numbered 101, 102, etc.? Or as I suspect, did each carrier just use whatever numbering system best suited the situation?
Were non-revenue cars (like firefighting or MOW) cars given a special alpha-numeric number sequence?
There is absolutely no standard for numbering locomotives or cars in N America. Major railroads regularly renumber their engines. If a rialroad is a subsidiary or owned by the same parent company then the numbering may unify the whole group owned by the parent company. Other than that its essentially random.
There is no industry wide standard, but each RR has an internal standard. Cars of the same type and with the same equipment tend to numbered in the same series. Likewise locomotives of the same class tend to be numbered in the same series.
Some roads have special numbers for MoW equipement. Ex. Conrail used 6 digit numbers for revenue cars, and 5 digit numbers for company service cars.
Working with our standard day in and day out for 10 years, I can tell what a locomotive is and how it is equipped, from the number alone. Also, I can generally tell what a car is by the first three digits of it’s number.
A lot of it depends on the size of the railroad A small railroad with 30 engines and 1000 cars can be more consistent than a large railroad with 9000 engines and 300,000 cars. The large railroad can have more cars than numbers and may have to put similar cars in dissimilar number series.
You didn’t say if you are modeling steam or diesel, but I am assuming that you are doing something freelance. This is my opinion, but just because there is not a standard does not necessarily mean that there isn’t some sort of system. I think that you would be happier in the long run if you came up with some simple system that would separate the diferent cars by type. For example, boxcars could be in the 100 series, hoppers in the 200 series, flats in the 300 series, etc. The series could just as easily be 1000, 2000, 3000, etc. Depending on the hypothetical size of your railroad, boxcars numbered 1057 and 1298 give the impression that there are many more of their sisters roaming around, as opposed to boxcars numbered 10 and 12. Also, I don’t think that different cars numbered sequentially is ideal…for example boxcar 11 and tank car 12, if that is what you are contemplating.
For diesel engines, some railroads picked number series based on the engine’s horsepower. For example, GP-38s might be in the 2000 series and GP-40s might be in the 3000 series. Or, you can number them according to year acquired. For example the first locomotive acquired in 2001 might be numbered 20011, and the second numbered 20012.
Again, this all is my opinion. Whatever you ultimately do only has to satisfy yourself.
Let’s back up a second here. Yes there is no overall North American or US way to letter equipment - but each railroad sets up it’s own number series for different pieces of equipment. They don’t just number them higgledy-piggledy.
Often in the 19th c. a new railroad would number locomotives as they bought them: 1,2,3,4 etc. Eventually they divided them up by classes…all 4-6-2’s would be 400’s, 2-8-2’s would be 300’s etc. Over time they might change their number system, going to a four-digit number to allow for more classes. Railroaders tended to refer to engines by their class number rather than as a Pacific or Northern. “We were going up the hill in a 6000 when a coupler broke…” etc.
Same with cars, boxcars might be numbered in the 5000’s, reefers in the 6000’s, flats in the 1000’s etc. Again, as railroads grew, they might go up to as high as six-digit numbers. Your yard crew will find it easier to know what to look for if they know similar types of cars have similar numbers.
In the beginning, locomotives had names, not numbers.
Once you get beyond about 20 names, a system for numbering or naming is needed to help give recognizable order to the fleet. This is true whether the fleet is locomotives, cars, ships, or airplanes. In Navy ships, the class of ship can usually be told by its name. But in modern times, politics has interfered too often with names, resulting in a less orderly naming scheme.
Without a national requirement or standard, systems for naming or numbering were invented (or copied) to suit local needs. The most common first numbering system is in order of acquisition. But acquisition order numbering does little to help users classify the fleet. Acquisition order numbering breaks down under large numbers, when second hand equipment is acquired, and deliveries of different classes of equipment overlap. We suffered from all 3 problems with acquisiton order numbering of CG aircraft - which was the system until the 1980s. Railroads encountered the same problems as they grew.
The next logical step is a class numbering system. However, class numbering often has to redone periodically when the original classes didn’t have sufficient numbers available within the class, or the number of new classes exceeds digits available. In the 20th Century, many railroads used somewhat rational alpha-numeric systems for classifying with a crosswalk between individual numbers and classification letters/numbers. On the D&RG as an example, C meant Consolidation, K meant Mikado, and the number after represented tractive effort for that class. A group of numbers would be assigned to a particular class. The PRR had a similar classification system, but used consecutive numbers for a given wheel arrangement - ie., K-4, K-5 for their Pacifics.
As others have pointed out, the same approach was generally taken to numbering cars. Renumbering became necessary when railroads
Modelers tend to number equipment in a “grand scheme” approach, carving out blocks of numbers for ech car type. I have found that real railroads tend to number cars in groups. So if they buy a 500 boxcars they are 100000-100499. If they buy 1000 hoppers they may be 100500-101499 or 101000-101999.
One exception to all this is the PRR that scattered their cars in whatever number sequence was available or next highest.
Speaking of political interference with ship names, time was when the small warships were named after people and the bigger ships were named after more enduring things. Now the biggest warships are named after (ugh) presidents - only a few of whom were naval officers before they became politicians. (JFK, LBJ, Bush41)
One short line simply numbered freight cars in the order they were acquired - so a box car might be sequentially numbered between two gondolas. Later, a Wabash car was damaged on the property. The Wabash accepted cash in lieu of repairs, the new owner repaired the car and put it into service - with the original six-digit Wabash number unchanged. Everything else had one or two digit numbers.
The same road numbered as well as named their locos - including some rather famous names (Reno, Inyo, Genoa…) The two most recent acquisitions are simply numbered.
My own freelance railroad numbers hopper cars in series, but non-hoppers are a scrambled egg. Since the car type is part of the number, I have three different #1s (Wa1, WaFu1 and Sesafu1) They are a box van, a box-brake and a hopper-brake, respectively.
A “chicken or the egg” thing. Most N American railroads only used 4 digit engine numbers. Did that for literally a hundred years. When computers began to be used for railroads, almost all the engines were 4 digit numbers. Many of the early programs were set up for 4 digit engine numbers. However as computer programs evolved, they now can handle 6 digit numbers just like any other piece of equipment. And even after 6 digit numbers are available, N American railroads are still using 4 digit engine numbers.
So for a brief 10-15 years, some railroads were limited to 4 digit engine numbers. Since most engines were 4 digits before that time and since that time, I don’t think that engines have 4 digits because of a computer limitation. Its more like tradition.
AAR interchange rules limit initials to 4 characters and numbers to 6 digits.
If 6 digits can be used, why did UP use UPY before the road number of its switchers?
2nd question: are there any railroads that have enough cars that would necessitate changing the AAR interchange rules if they bought a large number of new cars? Or would they go the UPY route and create new or use old reporting marks? What would be the benefit of either route?
Existing railroads also have the rights to the reporting marks of predecessor railroads or other roads that were absorbed by them. This is why you will see freight cars in full UP lettering and paint but with a CNW, MP, CMO or other such reporting mark. This opens up other numbering blocks if necessary.
I saw what appeared to be a quite new flatcar this morning with “NYC” reporting marks.
I know the Minneapolis Northfield and Southern numbered their diesels as they bought them, I know there was a no. 10 (FM H-10-44) up thru no. 41 (SD-39) but I’m not sure right now if they had any single-digit engines. Oddly their steam engines used a different system, their Russian 2-10-0’s were 500’s for example. Their cabooses had a zero in front of the number, but were apparently also numbered in order of purchase…so you could see caboose 015 (steel bay window caboose) being pulled by engine 15 (Baldwin DRS-6-6-15).
I should have thought to include the fact that I am building an indoor, ca 1875 backwoods SL, a low-budget operation (the only strictly prototypical aspect of it). The fleet will be miniscule compared to most–I can’t even envision 100 units of all types at this juncture. My original thinking was to have a mnemonic for the sequence the items were built. A classification system, which seems most favored, would work with a build date.
Thanks to all who took time to express opinions, they’re valuable to me as a beginner.
For Locomotives you can always follow the Minneapolis & Saint Louis. Their first road diesel locomotive numbering was based, approximately, on the month and year of acquiring a diesel locomotive. Their first 5 Alco RS1’s were numbered 244, 744, 944, 1044 and 1144…
In 1875 there were no “reporting marks”. At least none required on the cars. Many cars didn’t have “initials”, just the owner’s name and a number. Pre-1900 you are operating by a completely different set of rules than a “modern” railroad uses. Even the operating rules were different (for example signal colors, white = go, green = caution, red = stop).
In the 1870’s many engines were named, not numbered. For example the P&R had its “Gunboat” class of 4-6-0’s that were named for Civil War gunboats. 0-4-0’s were named for small mammals (Rat, Minx, Skunk, etc).
Some series of cars were either odd or even numbers (dating from when the trucks were numbered since “cars” only had 2 axles).