Freight Car Weight

[dehusman]

On the side of teh car is a stencil labeled "LT WT" or light weight. That is Tare, the weight of the car itself. The weight of the car and its load (gross) minus the weight of the car (tare) is the weight of the load (net).

The weight of the load varies wildly. Generally tank cars and bulk commodities (coal, grain, rock, ore) are loaded at the max the car will carry. The other commodities tend to be less than the full capacity of the car. Best guess, think about the commodity and how much is actually in the car. Things like auto parts and appliances will be relatively light, rolls of newsprint would be heavier. LCL and FAK would be very light, probably less than 10 tons. I would suggest that the net would be between 25% and 75% of the capy of the car. So if its a 50 ton boxcar you would have between 12 and 38 tons of stuff in the car. If its a 50 ton hopper of coal it will have 50 tons of coal in it (well actually 48-50 tons if you want some variation).

Dave H.

[WSOR 3801]

The load should not weigh more than the load limit. If it does, that is a problem[:0] On the WSOR, our paperwork sometimes lists the tonnage of the car. If the car is MT, it will read 30-45 tons. That is the Tare weight. Loaded cars will weigh between 90-142 tons. 142 ton car is 286k, roughly, something we shouldn't be handling[;)].

Each product is different. A 50' box loaded with fiberboard might weigh 76-90 tons, including the tare weight of the car. A box with paper is usually 100-130 tons. Centerbeam flats with lumber are usually 100 tons of load, 30 tons of car. Centerbeams are 73-75 feet long. So for a 40' box, a lumber load might be 40-50 tons. Remember to leave the box of lumber spotted up for a while. The lumber had to be loaded/unloaded one piece at a time in the old days. Covered hoppers are usually 130 tons, except for some of the newer cement cars which are getting to 143 tons.

[Anonymous]

Here is example from trucking.

USA Class 8 5 axle vehicle. Max Gross (Overall) 80,000 Pounds

Same vehicle Empty might weight 25,000 Pounds (No load... this is the TARE WEIGHT)

Subtract the TARE from the GROSS and you now have the amount of the loaded weight.

In this case you have a total of 55 Thousand pounds of "Stuff" including fuel, oil, driver his stuff and cargo plus pallets etc etc etc...

Dont ask about Axle weights, I literally have forgotten the algebra needed for that solution.

[Anonymous]

So how do I figure out the weight of the loads the cars are hauling? Since model cars aren’t stenciled. Say I have a 40 steel boxcar (model of course) loaded with lumber in it, how much does it weigh (in real life), compared to how much it weighs empty.

[jimrice4449]

There are 3 numbers on the left side of frt cars. The top is generally 50000 for a 40' box car the next is an odd no. generally somwhat larger than the top no. and the bottom is a number smaller yet. They are, top to bottom capy (nominal capacity of the car in lbs., Ld. limit (the maximum that the car will hold) and, bottom lt. wt.(suprise! the wieght of the car w/o any lading..also called tare). To the right of the lt wt there is usually a stencil like "Sacto 2 57" This indicates that the car was last wieghed light at SP's Sacramento shops on Feb 1957. The car must be periodically rewieghed as the lt wt is the basis for billing. Occasionally this stencil will read "new 2 57" which, as I'm sure you've already figured out, means that it's a new car and was wieghed light at the factory.
The spaces on your waybill show the use of the above figures. After the car is loaded and before a waybill can be prepared it must be wieghed. The gross wt is what the wieghmaster gets on the scale with the car on it. He then reads the lt wt off of the car(the tare) and subtracts it from the gross. The remainder is the net, or the wieght of the contents of the car which is the basis (along w/ mileage) of the frt charges.

[Anonymous]

I run my small model railroad using the waybills and paper work as described in an earlier Model Railroader. The form I use for the waybill has these spaces.
Under Weight are liners for the Gross, Tare, and Net.

What do each of these mean I think I know Gross and Net, but what is Tare.
Also, where can I find the weight of cars from the 1950's loaded (with various products) and unloaded? Is there a good book or download from the information station? Or a website? I checked into the local museum to see if they had any old waybills or other paperwork. The only way into the library the museum has is to pester the volunteer helpers, who don't know very much, and maybe they will get tired of you and let you browse. Or to volunteer to help and look at stuff when no one is around. I like filling out the paperwork of the station agent and conductor, when I run my trains, but I just can't stand not being able to do it right.