When were railroad tank car hazmat placards introduced? I’ve looked back in Classic Trains and couldn’t find any, so I assume they’re fairly recent. Modelling a 1980’s - 1990’s era - would they show up then? Thanks for the help.
Check this thread for lots of placard info
ETA: Wonderful, the forum is acting wonky again with links
This thread: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/221383/2450447.aspx#2450447
1977-1978, with railroads adopting them about 1983. These would be the ones with the number code.
So, yes.
Ed
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/221383/2450447.aspx#2450447
Cheers, the Bear.[:)]
I have reprint from the prototype Car Builders Cyclopedia going back to 1925 that show placard holders as standard equipment on tankcars. Pictures from the 1922 Cyclopedia do NOT show them. The photos show the holders without placards, but they are primarily builder’s photos taken at the car manufacturing plant, with no liquid cargo or residue in the cars. I recall seeing cars as a teenage ca. 1960 with placards such as FLAMMABLE, COMBUSTIBLE, CORROSIVE etc. I believe these were phased out as the public became more environmentally aware. They were replaced with placards with a commodity code number that gave information to first responders in the case of an emergency, but did not identify them clearly to the public or to TV cameras.