Equipment Logs

[preceng]

Hey guys & gals.

I am starting to aquire a nice inventory of locos and roling stock. I decided that I would lke to start a log or list of each piece as I aquire new stuff. Ya, I know, NOW I think of this. Anywho...I have seen some commercial software applications, but I am quite handy with MS Excel and prefer to create my own list/data base. I was wondering what information you suggest for the list. Besides the obvious (scale, manufacturer, car type, reg.#, etc.) what info would be useful, or which would not be important at all?

As always, Thanks[:D]

[eastcoast]

YO.
I keep two complete inventories of every piece of
equipment I own. AND, I make sure that it is reviewed
thoroughly every 4 months.
1. You can use the computer hardware all you need,
keep in mind that computers sometimes FAIL.
2. MY SOLUTION; I keep a hard copy on file in a
notebook ( printout of computer file ) AND
3. I maintain a CARD INDEX BOX with 3 x 5 and 4 x 6
cards as a "waybill system" of sorts.
Information I record is : Manufacturer, Roadname ,
Roadnumber , box number,Type of equipment , color,
purpose / owner .
It is alot to keep track of, but easy once you are into the
project awhile. Hope I helped a little.
ken_ecr

[leighant]

I keep a set of rosters as word-processing files on computer. They are in a tab form that does not line up properly when I copy to this reply page. I keep a roster page file for each general freight car type-- box, flat, gondola, etc. (Passenger cars a little different) I try to get information down to one line per car. The headings across the top of the page- Railroad (reporting park initials), Car Number, AAR Class (actually mechanical designation, such as XM for ordinary boxcar, XI for insulated box, XT for box tank etc.), Distinctive Marking (a quick visual identifier that does not depend on reading tiny reporting marks such as "El Cap" for an El Capitan slogan on a Santa Fe car), Authentic?, coupler type and finally the manufacturer of the model and model catalog number.

Here are some sample one line entries in my system.
ATSF 12258 XM BX-70 SupChf 50'SD ph-cus KD KD 31000
This is a Santa Fe boxcar (XM) of the railroad's class BX-70, a 50 foot single-door car with big Shock Control lettering. "ph-cus" in the authenicity line means this model has been custom painted and detailed to match a prototype photo. The model was made by Kadee before Kadee's N scale line became MicroTrains.

AD&N 2413 XM Pine 40'DD 60s MT MT 23240
An Ashley Drew & Northern 40 foot double door boxcar with a "Pine Tree" graphic on its side. "60s" in the authenticity column reminds me that this line didn't have this car until the 1960s which is a little late for my railroad set in 1957. Authenticity is not an absolute term but how it fits on MY railroad. The model is MicroTrains #23240. And so on.

Since I am prototype oriented in operation and model building, you can see that this kind of listing gives me a quick scan of the makeup of my car fleet...proportion of car construction types, roadnames, etc. I can quickly look down a list of 83 boxcars. Actually, I break the list into two parts, cars that are in service and cars that need couple changes, etc. or that I plan to strip and repaint before using etc.

This roster is NOT the best for a property inventory I guess. I operate with car cards. The front is all prototype information for use in the operation of that car, and on the BACK, I write a log about the model... when it was purchased, model mftr and catalog number, how it was modified. If it has been superdetailed to match a prototype photo from a book or magazine, I put the bibliographic reference data there also.

Kenneth L. Anthony, Santa Vaca & Santa Fe Rwy, Corpus Christi, Texas.