Lately I noticed something about brake wheel placement on modern freight cars and had a few questions about it.
On several of my own prototype photos, freight cars all have pretty low brake wheels - usually a little higher than the coupler - but not much higher. They also have low ladders.
I saw a photo of a car from 1981 or so that had a high brake wheel on a boxcar.
Still older cars from the transition era have high brake wheels and rooftop walkways.
I'm just wondering if the brake wheels are gradually moved as boxcars are re-built or repaired or if they pretty much keep the brake wheels in the same locations for their whole service life.
I tend to model on the more modern side of things - what features are going to be out of place on a modern era train?
The 1981 pic likely showed a car old enough to have been built before the transition away from roofwalks started in the mid-1960s. The roofwalks had to come off, but brakewheels could stay in the original location, along with the ladders to access them. Many RRs moved them on their own as cars cycled through the shops. There may have been some deadline on this, but longer than the one with the roofwalks, not sure.
Most roofwalk era cars are now retired by virtue of reaching the end of their 40 year lives, except ones extended for various reasons. But this was a gradual process, so depending on how far back "modern" goes for you, you'll see larger numbers the closer you get to 1970 or so. During the 70s, there were still many roofwalks to accompany the high-mount brake wheels, with those gradually fading away by around 1980.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
In my case "modern" is the 90's to present. I figured there weren't hard deadlines - but some kind of standards process that generally resulted in the vast majority of cars getting the upgrades to gradually phase them out.I guess the builder date info on models could help with that 40 year estimate... but I periodically see hoppers labled "Erie Lakawana", "Rock Island", "Penn Central" and other roads that are long gone. They've often been patched for new owners.I guess I'm wondering what would be involved if I bought an older model freight car (let's say something approaching the 40 year mark) - what would I need to change?Brake wheel location seems to be one. Conspicuity marks if shopped since 2005 (as I understand it). Roller bearing trucks. No roof-walks. Ladder rungs removed from the upper parts of the car. Removing any push pole sockets. Is that about it to make it road-worthy so it'd be accepted by one of today's railroads?
You can extend the life of a freight car nearing it's 40year interchange lifespan (non-interchanged cars can be used by the owning railroad for much longer as long as they are safe). There are rules for life extension and rebuilding, mostly coming in under AAR Rule 88:1. Rule 90 – applicable to units built new prior to July 1, 1974, e. g., built date: 1972 + 41 = 2013.Code XA will be reported to the unit on January 1, 2013.[Not sure were that extra year comes from - ETA: Car service life expires after the last day of the year it reaches it 40 (or 50) year limit - July 1972 --> Dec 31, 2012 (last day of year)]
2. Rule 88 – applicable to units built new after June 30, 1974, e. g., built date March 1980 + 50 = 2030,Code YA will be reported on March 1, 2030.[In other words, freight cars built after 1974 get a 50-year interchange service life by default]
3. Rule 88, Rebuilt Status – increases service a maximum of 10 years, e. g., built date May 1973, rebuilt date July1985 + 50 = 2013Code YA will be reported on July 1, 2013.[That arithmetic seems rather dodgy - should the freight car have gotten a 50 year lifespan due to the 1985 rebuild, to 2023?]
4. Rule 88 – Increased Life Status – increases service a maximum of 15 years, e. g., built date June 1978, approvedincreased life status September 2010 + 50 + 15 = 2043Code YA will be reported on September 1, 2043.[This freight car gets an interchange service life of 65 years - according to a regulation, you in fact almost have to crash test a sample upgrade freight car, meaning this is only cost-workable for sizable batches of identical cars]
5. For the purpose of determining car hire age for superstructures and box cars under Ex Parte 346, sub 19, a) units built in January – June, current year 2010 – year built 1980 = 30 + 1 = 31 years, b) units built in July – December, current year 2010 – year built 1980 = 30.Now, what constitutes a Rule 88 Life extension/rebuild...Google's not turning up much.The best I can find at the moment is a Rule 88 Checklist