How does one define one car these days? I’ve been wondering about that since the introduction of modular “Spine Cars” where the number of platforms can vary. Does a car go from coupler to coupler or from truck to truck?
This question was inspired by the post asking about the longest train readers had seen.
For professionals, one car = one car number, which in most cases is coupler to coupler. Sometimes they will permanently put two cars together and may not replace the couplers in the middle with a drawbar.
This can make it difficult to count if you’re not close enough or it’s too dark or the train is too fast to read the reporting marks. My rule of thumb is to count loads on the platforms. Two trailers or containers = 1 car. Some 5 unit intermodal cars can be counted as 1 if empty, 2 if loaded just with trailers or 5 if double-stacked, but that’s just me and my attempt to “equalize” trains counts going back to before the intermodal boom.
Actually, around here one car is one platform. On the train journal, a 5-pack is one car, but when talking to the dispatcher about your train length, it’s five.
We get even more complicated than that on the UP…a spine car is shown as one car, but a double-stack car is broken down by wells, each of which is given its own reporting mark (for example, DTTA, DTTE, DTTD, DTTC, DTTB). I’m sure it has to do with the number of intermodal boxes (trailers or containers) that can be shown riding on one car.
Carl- So a three platform well car could be counted as six units if it were double stacked in the system you are describing? That’s pretty crazy. By the same system how would you categorize it if a modular spine unit were to have the same number even if it had multiple platforms (if that could happen).
Mike
I always thought that one number ment one car. Boy this gets confusing after a while.
Dave [:D][:D]
I count anything between the trucks as one car.Southern Pacific gave its articulated coaches a seperate number for each unit.Two numbers for the coaches, and three for the Cascade Club and Lark Club.What’s good enough for the Espee is good enough for me.
They can be 5 cars or “units” connected but are treated as one complete car.
No, Mike…three tubs is three tubs. You’d see the tub listing, followed by the listing of the containers therein (could be up to three), but those have no bearing on the car count.
Yeah [sigh], three tubs is three tubs, but three vertebrae is one spine car!
Gets a bit confusing doesn’t it! Thanks Carl, that helps. I’m just glad I don’t have to count in th UP fashion!
Mike
Why am I not surprised that no-one can agree about something as simple as how many cars are on a train? This is the kind of stuff that keeps railroads interesting…
This is how we do it…We count cars by the number of control valves. Now, the weird part is that permanently connected cars (via solid drawbars, or articulated) are considered one car with multiple segments. The segments are numbered like this: A 5 pack double stack (QY) would be numbered from the “b” end…B-E-D-C-A (each letter represents a well or segment. For car counting purposes, they are counted by the number of control valves that they have. A QO is a 5 pack spine car with 3 control valves, so on the train list (wheel report) it is counted as 3 cars. So if you had a train consisting of (10) 5 pack spines, your wheel report would show your train as being 30 cars long. Even though it has 5 platforms it is still counted as three. A QD is a pair of flats joined togeather by a solid drawbar, it is 2 stand alone (non articulated) cars, so it is counted as two cars for car count purposes (still numbered as one car). A QV is a double stack articulated 3 well car, it is counted as 2 cars (2 control valves). This is the way that these cars show up on the train list. For distance purposes, i.e. when giving the engineer a car count to a joint, etc. I give 50ft car lengths. Hope this helps. On a trip quite some time ago, an old head gave me some schoolin’ and it hasn’t failed me yet. Pretty sharp some of those old hogs…Its been awhile, but, I think that our System Special Instructions back up what this old hogger explained to me.
Kenny
Actually, Ken, it’s B-C-D-E-A on the five-packs.
Control valves is another valid way of doing it, especially since your railroad (ours, too!) has some aspects of operation that are governed by “tons per operative brake.” I’m not a road guy, so I can’t go into detail there.
Our intermodal switchmen give their car-lengths by specifying either “tubs” or “five-packs”.
Sorry CshaveRR, brain fart. I know better than that. Cold brew and typing doesn’t work that well. At least somebody understood what I was trying to say…
Ken
around here if you have a 5 pack it is one car. in the consist but for making a cut its 5. if claiming it for car count for pay its 5.
It’s confusing when switching cars too. I was backing a trailer train into several tracks in Collinwood, Ohio when the utility man said “5 more numbers to go”. He couldn’t tell from his list whether 5 numbers was 5 car lenghts or 25 car lengths. It turned out to be about 15. Mark