Thank you all for your responses!
As I mentioned in the original post, I have quite a few screenshots of actual trains (rolling stock) that Im looking to model. Im not totally locked in on a certain era only because I like so many different things. I like more modern diesels but certainly wouldnt mind a nice steam engine operating on my layout. In fact, some of the towns I have on my plans, the railway has been turned into a rec trail and even when they were operating, wouldnt have been able to handle a larger, more modern diesel locomotive. Example, a CN train from Montreal coming into St Albans, Vermont wouldnt have ever been seen operating through Morrisville, VT on the Lamoille Valley RR. I may end up with a mixture of them and just have to use my imagination, which I know isnt the way most modelers go. Most of the people that would come to see my layout wouldnt know the difference.
If I read your goal correctly, you wish to avoid buying cars willy-nilly for your future railroad. This is wise, in avoiding purchases you may regret. You also indicate you want to be able to indentify cars, for this purpose.
As a newbie who seems to have some interest in realism and the prototype, may I caution you? Learning to tell a Pullman-Standard PS-1 from an American Car & Foundry 40 foot boxcar is commendable. But first, I would determine the time frame that interests you most. Freight cars in interchange have a forty year lifespan so, you have latitude in your choices of freight cars. The reason I suggest determining your era first is, your favorite railroad might change but a lot of us that do change stick to the same timeframe. Even if we dispose of the locomitves which are usually fewer, we wind up with a large investment in rolling stock.
Once you haven chosen the era you wish to model and, depending on how important prototypical accuracy is to you, determine the type of car that interests you more. Some people go for boxcars, others choose hoppers, or tank cars etc. When you have made your choice(s), select industries that use that car type. No sense amassing dozens of flatcars if, your industrial base is food processing and warehousing.
The model maufacturers of late have been pretty accurate in describing their models relative to their prototypes, so look at the description on the box of a model that interests you. Then study the model to see what makes a Pullman-Standard 5277 cu. ft. boxcar different from a Pullman-Standard 5344 cu. ft. boxcar, other than cubic footage. Compare an ACF Center Flow covered hopper to a Pullman-Standard PS-2CD. Then note the various sizes that were built for different cargoes.
During the 1980s there was a model railroading press that went a long way toward educating those with a wish such as yours. Sadly, it is no more but, a lot of those publications have been uploaded to the internet and are available at www.trainlife.com. On the home page and click on "magazines" and look for Railmodel Journal and Model Railroading for learning freightcarology. There used to be an organization known as The Society of Freight Car Historians that published outstanding works on the North American freight car, but they seem to have ridden off into the Sunset. If your interest is strong, you might consider the acquistion of the entire publication run of Mainline Modeler magazine (1980-2006) on CD, from the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society at www.cohs .org. Mainline Modeler delved very deeply into any subject it covered, always with an in depth focus on the prototype. Once you select the prototype you wish to follow, consider joining the historical society, if there is one. They have periodical publications that provide in depth coverage of that particular railroad, including rolling stock. Some societies have published books on their subject's freight cars. The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society at www.sfrhms.org is one that can teach the others how to do it.
There are books used by the real railroads such as the Car Builder's Cyclopedia and, the afore mentioned Official Railway Equipment Register (which has no pictures, just data) but at this stage of your entry into this wonderful hobby, you might decide to wait. They equal in price to a GOOD locomotive. Welcome aboard!
ndbprr If you can find a friend at your local railroad who works on the office they can help you. Every 3 months the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) is published and the old ones thrown away. This is a huge phone book of every car in interchange service. Railroads are listed alphabetically and all the car numbers with dimensions, car type, usage and a whole lot more. Invaluable for whatever era you model.
If you can find a friend at your local railroad who works on the office they can help you. Every 3 months the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) is published and the old ones thrown away. This is a huge phone book of every car in interchange service. Railroads are listed alphabetically and all the car numbers with dimensions, car type, usage and a whole lot more. Invaluable for whatever era you model.
Doesn't have to be a railroad employee. Shippers, too. I had a buddy who worked at Stauffer Chemical (haven't a clue what he did there), and he brought over a whole pile of old ones. If you have a specfic era in mind, you can eventually find one on an auction site.
Ed
dtaborHow would I go about identifying exactly what each of those cars are and what they are most likely carrying?
As others have said, it depends on the type of car.
Tank cars are the easiest. Hazmat tank cars will have a placard with the UN commodity number on them and many tank cars (hazmat or not) have the commodity stencilled on the side.
Covered hoppers give some general hints, based on the size and the type of outlet gate. If the covered hoppers are large and have outlets that come down to a tube running crossways, those are generally carrying plastic pellets or resins, some type of chemical. They also will tend to have round hatches down the center of the top of the car.
If the cars have sliding gates (there will be horizontal runners) and its a large capacity car (3+ bays) then the car handles things like grain, soda ash, potash or fertilizer. Sometimes the owner of the car can be a clue. But whether its corn or wheat or milo, soda ash or potach, isn't obvious and there is no external signage. Fertilizer might have an "oxidizer" placard.
If the covered hopper has sliding gates and is small, two bays then it carries something heavy, like sand or cement.
If its an airslide then it is a fine powder, flour, powered resins, sugar.
Boxcars about the only clue is the type of boxcar. XF are rated to carry food products. XI or RBL are insulated cars, which could be canned food or beer. Double door boxcars are loaded with stuff in big "chunks", plywood, auto parts, large diameter paper rolls etc. Hi-cube boxcars are loaded with light stuff. Consumer goods, auto parts, appliances, plastic prducts, etc. A 50 ft boxcar with a sliding door? Could be just about anything.
Reefer's are generally food products but unless its a "cryo" car (which tend to carry frozen food) it could be refrigerated or frozen. Whether its meat or produce would be generally unkown.
And obviously there is a about 50-50 chance that any of those cars could be empties.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
mbinsewi Box cars can be a crap shoot as to what they are hauling. There are other web sites, seach around, you'll find them.
Box cars can be a crap shoot as to what they are hauling. There are other web sites, seach around, you'll find them.
Sometimes boxcars will have different colored doors such as white or yellow to indicate that they can only be used to haul clean ladings like paper and foodstuffs. Some older boxcars had a big XF and the words "FOOD LOADING ONLY" stenciled on the sides. XF is the AAR code for a non-insulated boxcar equipped with a Food and Drug Administration approved white epoxy interior coating to seal the walls, ends, and doors to prevent contamination. Sometimes though some boxcars will have other special stencils to indicate their special service like how CP Rail's newsprint boxcars had a shield and the words "Newsprint Service Only." I wouldn't say that's the way all railroads do it but those are the best known examples I can think of.
"If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking"- General George S. Patton
Our hosts have some books available that might help you more easily identify different types of freight cars. This one is good if you're modelling the current day:
https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/book/12813
They also offer some digital downloads:
https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/search?q=freight+cars
A good place to start:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/
Getting the reporting mark and car number helps to narrow it down.
Tank cars, try to identify the number on the UN placard. Sometimes tanks have labeling like "molten sulfer", etc.
Hopper cars, if it's a solid "unit train", it can be a bit easier by searching the reporting marks, and any other letter on the side, example; "Campotex" is a potash distributing company.
Plastic pellet hoppers can usually be identified by there length, and the "vented" hatch covers on the top, and the fact is they do not have typical hatches on the bottom, but connections for vacum lines, for unloading.
Most hoppers hauling grain and fertilizer products have hatches that open on the bottom, and long hatches on the top for loading, instead of the indivdual round hatches.
The smaller the hopper, the heavier the comodity, such as sand, or cement.
At least it's a start, so much to cover, so many commodities, and so many cars.
Good luck!
Mike.
My You Tube
Sorry in advance for this totally newbie question. I took a bunch of screen shots from videos of the trains in the area I am modeling. How would I go about identifying exactly what each of those cars are and what they are most likely carrying? I know basics like boxcar, tank car, covered hopper etc but Id like to know specifics so I could buy something similar for my future model RR. Is there a website or other source? Or can I tell based on what is on the side of the car like a code?