It has always been an article of faith that one would find the capacity (CAPY), load limit (LDLMT or LD LMT), and light weight (LTWT) stenciled on the side of every freight car in interchange service. I don’t know how long it’s been missing, but I finally noticed that CAPY doesn’t seem to be used any more?
Is LDLMT used in place of the old CAPY (they never were far apart)? When did CAPY cease to be required?
You might want to post this question over on the TRAINS Magazine forum.
There you will find guys with knowledge of real trains who might know the answer to your question better.
Well, if you want one author’s opinion, Larry DeYoung, author of the Conrail Color Guide to Freight Equipment, states that “the change in marking procedures to eliminate a car’s capacity (CAPY) from the stenciled data took place almost simultaneously with Conrail’s stock sale in 1987”.
You’re right, of course, galaxy. To be perfectly honest, I thought I was on the Trains forum since I had entered from a web search for the info which pointed me to a Trains article.
But if anybody on this forum has the answer, let’s hear it. I know from my experience of working for a railroader that modelers sometimes have more accurate information.