Can anyone give me a crash course on ACI plates. These are the plates usually located on the side of engine, just above the fuel tank. They’re usually multi-colored plates. What does ACI stand for, and why are they on the engines?
Dave
Dave, are you talking about the AEI plates? They are various colors of plastic about 5 inches by 3 inches and 1/2 inch thick. If this is what you are talking about, there is a printed circuit inside that gives car or engine information to a trackside AEI reader which relays it on to the railroads computer.
Yes, and the “ACI” plates, which stand for automated car identification, were phased out around 1980, or so. These were multi-color bar-code type plates. You don’t see many of these around anymore, especially on engines.
Todd C.
If you are in fact interested in the correct placement of the old ACI labels (which were a sort of multi colored bar code on very sticky plastic contact paper) the 1970 Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia has drawings showing the correct ACI placement on engines and every kind of freight car. They were mandatory for several years so a layout circa 1968-1978 should have them. You still see them on older cars, mostly very worn, and I think some utilities might still use them on unit coal trains.
Dave Nelson
I find ACI labels very useful in determining the former identity of some relettered and/or renumbered freight cars.
Here’s a website you might be interested in checking out:
http://members.rogers.com/iancranstone2001/aci.html
Thank you, very useuful information. I want to add them to my fleet of Chessie system engines. I always see them in photoes and wondered what they were.
Thank you, very useuful information. I want to add them to my fleet of Chessie system engines. I always see them in photos and wondered what they were.