At what point would ACI Kar-Trak labels have stopped being applied to new or re-painted equipment? I've seen a number of different dates, from 1977 to the early 1980s, referenced as the official demise of the system. If the builders and railroads knew that the system was going to be retired, say, in January 1977, would they have bothered affixing the plates to a car built in late 1976?
The date I most often see for the end of the requirement is approximately the end of 1977/beginning of 1978. Cars built up to the end got them. It wasn't just new or repainted cars either, every car was supposed to receive the labels, and compliance got up to 90% or more. They were still being applied to existing cars as well.
Rob Spangler
Thanks Rob. Here in Canada we still see these plates on the former Government of Canada covered hoppers that were built for grain service in the 1970s. They were all sold to the railways a few years ago, and the reporting marks were changed accordingly, but many of the cars are still carrying their ACI plates.
There's a fair number of cars from 1977 or older that still have their original ACI plates. After 1977 they stopped applying them, but they didn't necessarily remove them unless doing a full repaint of a car.
Anything about 1978 or newer never had one.
I think there was one ore-hauling railroad (DMIR maybe?) that actually kept using the ACI system for their own cars for several years later yet - that might be the alternate 1980s date you've seen. But in general use it was done in 1978.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Dayliner If the builders and railorads knew that the system was going to be retired, say, in January 1977, would they have bothered affixing the plates to a car built in late 1976?
If the builders and railorads knew that the system was going to be retired, say, in January 1977, would they have bothered affixing the plates to a car built in late 1976?
Thanks cv_acr. Further to the point in your first post, we often see the ACI plates simply painted over on the old C_WX hoppers.