CHTT is the reporting mark of the Chicago Heights Transfer Terminal Railway, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad.

@jamesstricklin5201

Ай бұрын

Ty i am smart now

Plates are AAR drawings of the car dimensions. Very good video my friend 👍😊😎

22:56 the grey cover with nothing under it is for the end of the MU Cable not plugged into another locomotive. That prevents the MU Cable from being damaged when not plugged into another locomotive.

This was a good video, i think the "F" on the locomotive means front. Nicely done Mr.McCowan.

All diesel-electric locos have to have a front designated hence the F. Plate is the AAR designation of the clearance diagram or loading gauge to most of the world. Plate C is smaller than Plate F which is smaller than Plate H. This is the extreme height and width dimensions the car is designed to stay within. Miner is the draft gear maker. The ICC is no longer in existence and the Surface Transportation Board is the more modern government entity. The X at the end of the owner's initials designates a private owner or other than a railroad. CSX has the initials of CSXT for CSX Transportation Co. to get around the X at the end. LD is the Load Limit or total weight of the car loaded. A car with 263,000 lbs on 4 axles is a one-hundred-ton payload car. LT WT is the Light Weight or Tare Weight of a car, in other words, an MT or empty car. The reflective strips show up at rail crossings at night to help indicate that a train is passing on the crossing in the vehicular traffic headlights. Generally, tank cars are unloaded mostly from the top and then from the bottom in the last bit of load in case there is a leak or accident with the unloading hose so the whole car does not spill the load. Heater pipes are also used on cars carrying syrup, etc that need to be heated to flow. High Voltage in a loco usually means 600 Volts which goes to the traction motors. The small canisters at 20:02 are fuel filters. The label saying "Ownership subject to a security agreement filed with the Surface Transportation Board" just means that the locomotive or even car was bought by a bank, leasing company, or other and that the loco or car has not been paid off yet. This equipment is paid off with funds generated by their use. A witness groove would be a base diameter to be able to measure the diameter of the wheel if needed. That would be a lot of wear on a wheel.

Great video as usual Mark. Back when i was young i lived by the Virginian Railway tracks. I still remember watching the giant Mallet steam powered locomotives pulling coal cars up the grade. The Mallet alone weighed right at one million lbs. Virginian had to expand the tunnels to accomodate the behemoths.

21:33 This indicates the wheels are 43" diameter when new. There's a line (witness groove) around the wheel at the 38" diameter. The wheels are turned (resurfaced) occasionally. That WG is the limit of how far the wheel can be machined down. It can't go less than 38".

@Bassotronics

4 ай бұрын

Isn’t it recommended that all the wheels have the exact same diameter for ease of operation of the traction motors? or isn’t it not necessary?

@Iconoclasher

4 ай бұрын

@@Bassotronics Correct. There may be a 1" tolerance on the diameter but they have to be the same size within 0.015".

From what I have read mark is the x denotes that it isn’t a rail road owned. Not necessarily a lease company just not owned by a railroad

An X on the end of a reporting mark indicates that the owner isn't a common carrier railroad. They're a mix of lease companies (e.g., the various TTX marks like TBOX and RBOX), privately owned cars (e.g., ADMX for the ADM grain company) and, more rarely, railroads that aren't common carriers (e.g., CMYX, the Cumberland Mine Railroad). A common carrier railroad is one that's obliged to transport whatever cars it's paid to transport; a non-common-carrier can refuse third-party traffic.

Generally speaking in industry, with regard to air pressure, green means high pressure and yellow means low pressure.

@MarkClayMcGowan

7 ай бұрын

Thank you!

The "CHTT" is the reporting mark. If the last character is anything but an "X", the reporting mark is for a railroad company. If the reporting mark ends in an "X" (for example "UTLX") is a private-car line. A private car line can be a leasing company, a car owned by a railroad customer, or other entity. One exception is TTX Corporation--it is a private car line (it uses several reporting marks--HTTX, JTTX, etc.) but TTX Corporation is owned jointly by railroads. As to graffiti "artists"--they are criminal vandals who vandalize property owned by others without the owners' permission. The graffiti vandals have gotten "smart" enough not to paint over reporting marks and car nos. only because they know that, if they do paint over the reporting marks and car no., their "art" will get painted over by the car's owner.

21:00 all 3 of those UP diesels are ES44AC's as designated by GE. The words on the cab is UP's special names for them.

@22:00 Those are there for your air connections for the multiple unit setup (where you have multiple locomotives tied together to be controlled by the lead locomotive). Those acronyms and functions are as follows: *MR* -> Main Reservoir. Ties all your locomotive reservoirs together to form a single large air supply for your train *ACT* -> Actuation. This is to actuate the bail-off on the independent brakes. Whenever the Engineer bails the independent brakes, it releases pressure off the brake cylinders so as to control slack action of the train. *A&R* -> Application & Release. Provides air pressure for controlling the independent brakes of the entire consist. Often times it's also labeled as "BC" for brake cylinder. There's probably more specifics on how this works but this is just bare basics from my knowledge. You also have a 27-pin electrical cable, and from what I've read, most of those pins are +74 VDC digital control signals (meaning the signal is either on or off to control something on the trailing units), or have analog (meaning that the output can vary and does not need to be strictly just "on" or "off") 0-74 VDC for providing control to things that need varying degrees of control (i.e. dynamic braking level, etc). Other pins that don't carry some kind of control signal is either ground or not used. Hopefully this is somewhat informative!

@MarkClayMcGowan

27 күн бұрын

Thanks for the information. It's always helpful to know a little more!

So.... 1 CHTT is Chicago Heights Transfer Terminal, part of the UP system. 2. LD LMT is the WEIGHT of the car PLUS the weight of the load COMBINED. DO NOT EXCEED. 3. The gray tag is indeed an AEI tag, it is literally the same concept as a tracking number for a package you may be tracking online. It also contains much more information like which side the AEI tag is located (A end) or (B end). 4. TOFX is part of TTX, the X always indicates that the car is owned by a non-railroad company, basically a lease or private owner. That's why railroad owned cars don't have an X, like Union Pacific is "UP" or "BNSF". They are railroad companies so no X needed. As for the boxcars extra stenciling, yeah that is quite a lot of extra information for the inner dimensions. 5. BLT is indeed Built new, and the case of the Missouri Pacific gondola, REBLT means Rebuilt, those cars are ooooold now so must be brought up to code for many reasons. 6. TTZX is also part of TTX, TTZX are the Centerbeam flatcar reporting marks. 7. The SP gondola was built for Southern Pacific but mow repainted into UP colors and badging however it retained the SP road number to keep UP numbers available. 8. Acid cars like the RCRX (Ragent Chemical) car are quite the special thing. Yes, the car needs a special coat as acid spillage would otherwise chew away an inferior paint job. 9. Plate C is a profile identifier for the type of car it is, some cars are tall, some are short, some are long some are designed for oversize loads, Plate A, B, C, D, E, F etc. 10. Yes the CHTT "springs" are part of the truck springs. Weight differences. So must be proper. 11. The BISX car is incredibly rare, I've only ever seen one in my whole life!!! 12. UP 5268 is a 2006 built GE ES44AC but as always UP renames them as C45ACCTE. The sanders are very useful as they drop sand on wet rails to give traction to the locomotive. 13. UP 5426 is also a GE ES44AC now known as C45ACCTE. This one is equipped with a steel bell unlike the 5200s that have electronic bells. 14. The red F signifies "FORWARD" or "FRONT". People need help identifying which end of the locomotive is the front 🙃. 15. UP 7976 is a later built GE ES44AC now C45ACCTE, the 73XX thru 82XX for UP were built from 2007 thru 2014. 2015 marked Tier 4 era and the Tier 3 Gevos were done for. Sincerely, modern UP N scaler.

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

4. Pedantic, but the final X indicates that the owner isn't a _common carrier_ railroad. For example, CMYX is the Cumberland Mine Railroad. They are a railroad, but they're not a common carrier -- they only move their own freight, and they don't accept traffic from or for anyone else. (In that specific case, they have no connection to the rest of the rail network, so it'd be kinda difficult for them to be a common carrier.) 9. The specific point here is that the plate letters correspond to the amount of clearance needed. Each route has a maximum allowable clearance. The issue with longer cars is that the middle of the car hangs out more when they go around corners, compared to a shorter car. 14. The F marker is needed because some locomotives are set up with the long hood as the front -- Southern, and Norfolk and Western both did that.

@AbelG8781

7 ай бұрын

@beeble2003 Thanks for the corrections! I was somewhere along the lines lol and yes, I'm still confused as to why they still donthe red F despite Southern no longer doing this

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

@@AbelG8781 There are still some locos in service with the long hood at the front. NS has a bunch, and there are some on short lines. And, who knows, in the future there might be more centre-cab designs with equal length hoods on each end. Having said that, I'm not sure why it's necessary to know which end is the front...

@freedomfan4272

7 ай бұрын

@AbelG8781 you do know that Mark retired from UP as an locomotive engineer? If I remember remember correctly he worked for SP/UP for 30+ yrs

@AbelG8781

7 ай бұрын

@@freedomfan4272 uh yeah?

I believe the Plasite paint holds up better than other paints in case of some acid dripping during loading/unloading process.

In the same vein as reporting marks ending in "X" those road numbers ending in "Z" are for intermodal containers and chassis.

UP owns all the reporting marks for all the railroads they merged with and they will reuse them even on brand news cars. Its not uncommon to see CHTT, CMO, MP, CNW, SSW, SP, DRGW, ARMN, etc on all kinds of newer cars including grainers, reefers, box cars, etc. I believe they do that to avoid having car numbers larger than 6 digits.

@TheMrPeteChannel

2 ай бұрын

Also they have to "use it or lose it". Say if someone starts a railroad called the Spokane & Pacific Railroad, they can't use the SP mark as long as the UP uses it.

The tareweight on those centerbeams is so light, they have to unload both sides ot once to keep it from tipping over.

I did not know some tank cars have the ability to heat their liquid to maintain viscosity. Interesting information! Thanks.

@haroldreardon1407

7 ай бұрын

I doubt the tank car has the ability to heat its own contents. Some do have heating coils so an outside heat source can be pumped through.

207900 is the loading limit. Go get the max weight you add LD LIMIT to LT WT. EW isn't excess width...but extreme width. The Plate Size (F) is a spec that refers to looking at the car from one end and determining size. In general that is measured by Extreme Height and Extreme Width and then seeing what Plate Size they fall into. Plate C is typical for most cars. Plate F is a high wide

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

You can't determine the plate size just by looking at the end of the car. Longer cars overhang more on curves, so havea higher plate size. You also can't determine it just by looking at the extreme height and width, because things like tunnel clearances depend on the width of the top of the car.

@25mfd

7 ай бұрын

@@oisiaa you are correct... i *definitely* did that wrong... gross rail load is as you stated, 286000lbs

@cdavid8139

7 ай бұрын

@@beeble2003 Agreed. I over-simplified things a bit.

Empty CG is the empty center of gravity, and the letter/number probably corresponds to a location aft of a datum plane. In airplanes, the empty CG is expressed as a number of inches from a datum. There is a forward and aft limit in inches. The loaded CG must fall within that envelope. I imagine it's a similar requirement for rail cars too.

Thank you for your time Mark very informative see I learn something every day. Paul

Really enjoyable, Mark. Crazy how satisfying these details can be for us RR geeks.

Great informative video Mark! Thanks for putting it together.

The different "Plate" designations on cars refer to a certain dimension limit I believe.

Very interesting video, thank you.

19:57 On the GE Locomotive 5268 you said that you didn't know what that appliance on the Engineer's side behind the fuel tank is. It is the water seperator to prevent water from being introduced into the air tanks after the air is compressed

Merry Christmas Mark. Have a safe and prosperous New Year. God bless you

Thanks for your knowledge in trains and I agree empty’s on the rear!!! DE N2JYG

I think (but not sure) that "empty cg" is the height (above the rail) of the centre of gravity of the empty car, and "floor h" is the height of the floor, again above rail. "2 inch tread cond. shoes" refers to the kind of brake shoes fitted. They were originally cast iron; the most common now is a high-friction composition denoted "HF comp", as you mentioned later in the video. I think "tread cond." refers to high-abrasion shoes that are designed to round off flat spots. Hazmat placards are still needed on empty cars, because even an empty will have a few gallons of product sloshing around in it, and potentially vapour, too. The only exception is if the tank has been cleaned, but receivers don't usually do that. The shipper will clean the tank before reloading. So the tank at 14:30 is almost certainly in nonhazardous service. Tank cars aren't heated while in transit, but they pass steam through the heater coils to melt or loosen the product on arrival. BISX is the Brandenburg Industrial Services Company. Looks like they do demolitions, so I'm not sure why they'd use a gondola like that. As you observe, the load limits of most cars are about the same, so a small gondola like that would be intended for heavier stuff than a larger gon.

@Ottos_ScLm_Race_videos_2009_on

7 ай бұрын

I go there.

@haroldreardon1407

7 ай бұрын

Empty center of gravity. Different than loaded CofG which can change.

note the end extra metal plates at the ends of the acid tankcar,,,,,they are there to help protect the tank car from rupturing during and or if it is in a 'derailment',,,,,designed to keep the railcar ahead or behind the acid car from becoming uncoupled with the acid car and puncturing the hazzard acid car in case of a accident. The hazzard cars also have special designed couplers that are designed NOT to become uncoupled in a derailment and to stay together and form a zig-zag type pattern while still cloupled instead of riding up and over each other and making a 'puncture' of the tank car.

The Sp gondola was a re stencil. You can see the GVSR underneath. Golden West Service. Reporting marks can be found on web pages to find the actual owner.

@rockymountainjazzfan1822

7 ай бұрын

There are "use it or lose it" rules concerning reporting marks. So, railroads will frequently repaint cars with "legacy" reporting marks (e.g., SP on a UP car) so that UP can show evidence that they are still utilizing the SP reporting mark.

21:57 the red "F" stands for the front of the locomotive.

Good stuff!!!

What's All The Stuff On Railroad Cars Mean? Dont ask him, he knows less than we do.

Good video , F stands for front of locomotive

Great video Mark! I've only heard them called AEI tags.

Ya gotta love a graffiti vandal with a conscience.

Yes, soybean/ vegetable oil/ lard,( tallow, edible/inedible)hardens in the car. The steam line is for to melt the stuff so it can flow out of the car.

Most B Quitman is owned by banks and investment companies and leased Annie triple net basis (maintenance, taxes, insurance”

@ 3:20 Those damn ghosts are everywhere. We even have them here in Cumberland Maryland. The whole coal train has those damn graffiti ghosts on them.

CHTT - Chicago Heights Terminal Transfer Railroad; Missouri Pacific Railroad; Union Pacific Railroad When you Google, put the letters followed by 'reporting mark'. In this case "CHTT reporting mark."

f is for front

Did ya see the tension on that chain? That handbrake is set tight. Nobody wants a repeat of that Canada incident a few years ago.

Mark CHTT is a company that UP owns. And X in the reporting marks mean its a private car. The coal train for me by example are marked EDGX and are owned by Alliant Energy a private company. Basically any private company and many are leaser cars like TILX, NAHX, FURX, GBRX, and many more. "Floor H" is the height the floor os off the ground. The floor is 3' 8 inches from the ground. The plate is the classification of the car. Im not exactly sure how it works.

Thats why most of the new cars have the reporting marks about 12 ft off the ground.

Yes sir I remember back in the day they would hand paint all them letters and numbers , they use decals and stencils these days and them kids tend to spray paint all over em in them big cities

1:20 my name is jack

"F" designates the FRONT/CAB end of the loco

Acid cars are so relatively small, because their lading is so relatively heavy.

Hey mark quick question.. I’m heading to Tehachapi soon and I want to see the loop.. what are some good spots to see the loop up close ? I’m taking a regular sized car and I know there are a lot of dirt roads up there so if you know somewhere It won’t be a problem can you let me know please .. thank you

Those cylinder things look like in line fuel filters

F means front, believe or not! 😅

@buddypressnell5314

7 ай бұрын

On locomotives

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

Needed because some railroads used to have their control desks oriented so the long hood was the front.

2” high friction composition brake shoes.

Plate refers to the size of the car.

“Plate F” is not the same as “F” on a locomotive to designate the forward end; it refers to the interior height, meaning that the “excess height car” has an extra two-feet of interior height compared to a standard boxcar of the same length.

FLH I believe is floor height above the rail.

Chicago Heights Terminal and Transfer was a subsidiary of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois. It then was a subsidiary of Missouri Pacific. It survives as a U.P.subsidiary. it outlived its original parent by 47 yrs I think. I think MoP absorbed C&EI in 1976.

19:57 i think thats an air cleaner

Anyone know what that caricature signifies that's next to the TOFX on that 887156 box car? I see them on CSX coal hoppers out East.

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

Just some person's graffiti tag, like a signature.

thought the X means the don't own there individual tracks.

Who Maintains the cars the railroads or the owners How is braking equal for each car. Thank You

@MarkClayMcGowan

7 ай бұрын

I'm not sure of either, to be honest. I have seen cars of all types at the repair facilities in Colton. I'll ask my train sources about the brakes. Thanks for the questions and for checking it out!

Hey Mark! Is the Car Number Unique to the CHTT Owner especially since it was only six (6) Digits long ? Great Video. 👍🙏

@MarkClayMcGowan

7 ай бұрын

I do not know, but thanks for checking it out!

Most writers (graffiti writers) carry tape with them so they can tape the info so the rail workers dont paint over their pieces. Im sure you have some graffiti writer subs

@MarkClayMcGowan

7 ай бұрын

I hope I do! It doesn't bother me unless it's obscene or gang related.

Private owned car if it has an X at the end

They don't paint over the markings because that is the quickest way for a car to get a repaint and then their work is gone. 264k or 286k are the most common car load limits with some 315k limit cars. The states been helping out shortlines to get all tracks upto 286k as thats what most newer cars are. the F is for front because on some units they run long hood forward (NS thing) its just a legal requirement. MR: main reservoir

@beeble2003

7 ай бұрын

Unlikely to get a whole car repainted just because of graffiti over car data. They'll just patch out enough to repaint the data.

FH would be floor height. Empty cg is center of gravity measured from some datum.

The F stand for Front.

ES44AC, evolution series 4400 horsepower AC traction motors

"F' means front.

Hey Mark, I love all your videos. I have a question. I have always wondered what it costs to ship something. Is it $1000 or $10,000 or more. I know it would depend on what it is and where it’s going but just a rough amount. Thanks for all you do

@MarkClayMcGowan

7 ай бұрын

I'll see if I can find out

@stanley4006

7 ай бұрын

@@MarkClayMcGowan Awesome, thank you so much. I have tried to look but can’t find anything. But I don’t have contacts like you do. I really appreciate it.

@joemc111

7 ай бұрын

Whose cars are huge. Just think how big those cars might be if the Railroad companies started out with a wider track.

AEI tag with all information about car

Sorry i miss spelled your name, Mr. McGowan