I’ve bought an Athearn Conrail 50’ OP plug door box car with roof walks, whose built date is 10-65 (BLT 10-65) according to the car inscription in the consolidated stencil. It also has an inscription CRBS 5-86. Would this one be some repacking or major intervention? If so, it means that the car was in service by that time. But with roof walks in the late 80’? Or would it be some inscription “for the future”? (Don’t know whether this kind ever existed!). Obviously, it can also be some decal mistake from Athearn.
I would appreciate your opinion and knowledge on the matter, guys.
I wondered the meanings of these inscripton marks as well, and I look foward to responses on that aspect. I have a couple of wierd ones that I may want to add to the thread later.
However, as far as the roof walks I think that is very much prototypical. I saw a couple of NS cars at the end of their 40 year life span that still had them a couple of years ago (I have pics of them as well). If they already had them I don’t think that their was any organized effort to remove them.
I’m going to make a WAG that the 'CRBS 5-86 doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with the carbody itself, roofwalks or no roofwalks, but rather is making reference to the trucks, ‘RB’ standing for ‘Roller Bearing’ and the ‘S’ signifying either “Schedule” or “Service”; like I said I’m just making a WAG!!!
I assume you’re making a WAG, RTPoteet. That’s all right. But still remains the question of date 5-86. It seems to me that, by then, cars of major railroads, like CR was, didn’t have running borders any more, at least in interchange service. Obviously, as i already said, it could be either some sort of inscription mark “for the future”? or an Athearn innacuracy.
Well since Conrail started in '76, I believe blt. date means it was one of many incorporated roads in CR, so the roof-walk was probably removed and brake appliances lowered when car got CR paint job. I said probably, there could be exceptions. Also, note that Athearn uses “liberal” paint jobs on lots of it’s rolling stock, so don’t trust them for accuracy. mike h.
Note the Conrail one that I mentioned at the end of my first post. That was an example of a Conrail Boxcar that made it all 40 years (edit) with the raised brake wheel, but not running boards. (Conrail 209514 BLT 11-64). The picture was taken in 2004. I’m sorry that the pictures are no longer online, but if you will give me some time I will rescan them to show you.
Note what was mentioned by the guys in the business. If a boxcar did not require repair then it never got reconfigured. I’ll also second what was said above about the marks having to do with truck work and lubrication, that usually does not denote a repair.
If you would like post the Athearn number and I can look in the Original Railway Equipment Register and see if it was in the same class as 209514, but either there are prototypical examples of boxcars that kept their high brakewheels and running boards.
Ok, I take back what I said about the running boards. I just went and looked at that old Conrail boxcar and snapped a few digital pics. I’ll upload them in a few. What I was remembering was the high placement of the brakewheel. The top of the car does have brackets for running boards, but the boards themselves were removed.
It would not be impossible for a boxcar to still exist with running boards in the 80’s, but as you mentioned it would techically be illegal (although it happened).
Be sure to check out the link below on when Conrail boars were removed…
Oh and if it were me I’d probably let it roll as an oddity or see if I could just seperate the boards from the brackets. Either way, as has been mentioned, model companies are known for missing details like that.
Oh and I am almost certain that no railroad would stencil something for future work that has not been done yet.
Here are the pics…sorry about the tiny size, but I didn’t want the people on dial-up to freak. You can’t really see the brackets that I am talking about, but you can see the high break wheel and that CRBS marks that you were talking about.
BLT 11-64 X58A
CBRS 4-86
I think that the Athearn model is probably off a little bit, but I really would like to know what that CBRS stands for…
If I remember correctly, the date after the CBRS is the reweigh date. The CBRS is probably the code for the shop that did it. If you want to know for sure, ask on the Trains forum.
I’m very thankful for your help. Athearn car (X58A) no. is 209525 (Athearn ref. 70755). Given your information, my conclusion is that the car shouldn’t have running boards. Don’t you agree?
Wow, practicaly the same car. Yeah it probably shouldn’t have the running boards. It was technically possible for it to keep them if it stayed on the home road, but doubtful by the 1980’s. At most it should just have the bracksts for the running boards.
Now the high brake wheel placement is fine…I think Athearn got it a little off as you noticed.
