Reporting Marks outside of North America

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

I am quite familiar with the reporting marks used on rolling stock and some locomotives on North American railroads. What I'd like to know is if reporting marks or something similar are used in railroading elsewhere, especially in Europe, India and Australia.

[Anonymous]

That's a good question, I just assumed everything would be very similar.

Where's Kozie?

[Kozzie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

That's a good question, I just assumed everything would be very similar.

Where's Kozie?

Hey Macguy! Sadly, [:(] I'm not sure what is used here, but don't despair [:0] I hope Peter 9M636C) can help us [:)]

I'm certain [;)] Peter will know the situatio is here downunder. [;)][;)]

OK Peter [:p][:p] entrance stage left [:D] heh heh

(p.s. Just to show my ignorance [:I][:I] - I'm not real sure what reporting marks are [:I][:I][:I][:I] )

Dave

[Anonymous]

Reporting marks are the letters and numbers on the sides of all the rail cars.

Here in North America it is usually 4 letters followed by a bunch of numbers.

BCOL 908554

For example.

[Kozzie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

Reporting marks are the letters and numbers on the sides of all the rail cars.

Here in North America it is usually 4 letters followed by a bunch of numbers.

BCOL 908554

For example.

Macguy - is that a way of identifying a freight car?

Dave

[M636C]

OK Guys,

Reporting Marks in Australia.

For those who didn't read my gigantic posts on gauges in Australia, before 1962 each state owned its own system, and the only interchange was between Victoria and South Australia on the 5'3" gauge.

Despite this, a system had been set up to identify freight cars by type, for use originally to send data by telegraph, and many cars had a single code letter, or groups of letters up to three to identify them. Four wheel open wagons were common, and in Queensland these were coded "F" for a wooden car, in NSW a steel car was class "S", in Victoria a steel car was class "I" (the original ones were Iron) but in South Australia, they were "OF" (because they had some big ACF gondolas class O, and each of these four wheelers was equal to half the big car). Anyway, there were dozens of code letters for all the different wagon types, with many conflicts.

After 1962, when the combination of standard gauge being extended to Melbourne and exchanging of trucks allowed NSW, Victoria and SA (including the Commonwealth Railways) to exhange cars, the conflicts began to be sorted out, but everyone had to have lists and miniature diagram books to determine what a code meant. The NSW and Commonwealth didn't change codings much, but SA and Victoria started using "S" and "V" as prefix letters to the codes.

In 1979, after about ten years of national through working, a four letter system was worked out, where the position of a letter in the code meant something, as well as the letter itself.

An example would be NQOY 31449

(That's not picked at random, I have its number plate at home)

However, in this code "N" indicated the operator (New South Wales State Rail)
"Q" indicated that it was a container wagon
"O" was the type of car, a 63' skeletal car for three 20' containers
"Y" indicated unrestricted speed, which meant 70 miles an hour (115km/h)

In this case 31449 was a unique number in the NSW system. Victoria and South Australia preferred to start each code (or nearly every one) at "1".

Victorian cars were prefixed "V"
South Australian and Commonwealth had become "Australian National", hence "A"
Western Australia used "W"
Queensland had "Q" (but didn't provide interchange cars until recently)
Privately owned cars were "P"
National Rail took "R" (because N was taken)
and so on.

As I said, container cars had "Q" as the second letter
Box cars (not many of them) were "B"
Ventilated Box cars (with Louvres) were "L"
Gondolas were "O" (for Open)
Flat cars (without container locks) were "F" and so on
Grain cars were "G"
Coal wagons, usually Hoppers were "H"

The third letter was just to separate types for a single owner, and was usually allocated sequentially, "A", "B", "C" and so on.

The final letter indicated speed, capacity or bearing type (if not roller bearing), so

"A" meant plain bearing, and an implied speed limit of 50mph (80km/h)
"F" for "fixed" meant roller bearing not suitable for truck exchange
"X" meant roller bearing suitable for truck exchange.
"Y" meant roller bearing suitable for 70 mph (the others were limited to 60mph)
"H" meant "heavy load", axle loads in excess of the standard 18 long tons

The running number could be anything the owner liked, because the computer system read the code as well as the number, so there would be no conflict with a vehicle with the same number but a different code.

There was often a computer check digit added after the number, which indicated if a manually transcribed number was in error.

National Rail has so many different types of container wagons that they use "R", originally allocated to refrigerator cars (which they don't have) to container wagons, their most recent new unit being RRYY 1. Freightlink, who run the Darwin service have introduced new cars numbered FQAY numbered from 1 (actually FQAY 0001-Y). Both of these happen to be "five pack" articulated cars, both suitable for double stacking where clearances allow!

I hope this explains the Australian system!

Peter

[daveklepper]

In Europe, during the period when nearly every railroad was Government-owned, the letters simply stood for the Nation: "DB" was for Deutches Budensbahn, the German Federal Railways of West Germany and "DR" for Deutche Republik for East Germany. "O" was for Oserreich, Austria. I think France used the full SNCF, Societe National de Chemen de Fere (the last word being the translation of iron, the whole thing meaning of course the National Society of the Iron Horse!). The simple letter "B" stood for the Belgian National Railways. I forget what Switcherland used, but it had an S. I think they used the French language abreviation for international freight cars, CFS, Chemen de Fere de Suisse or somehting like it. Within Switzerland itself, much like the old Rio Grande Southern and the D&RGW narrow gauge lines interchanged cars, the Chemen de Fere de Suiss and the Ratian Railway and the Fuka Oberalp all interchange frieght cars with each other, (CFS, CFR, and FO) and occasionally the rack line between Gossingen at the Gothard Tunnel Portal and Andermat has one or two of these cars on its line as well, although I never saw its own 4-wheel freight cars on the other three lines. Other than that, if I remember correctly, a single "D" stands for Denmark. I'm sure others will add what i have forgotten and what changes have occured since my last European visit. Dave Klepper

[TH&B]

Some European countries have alot of writing in duplicate, like Switzerland used SBB and CFS and even a third one I forget ( I used to know), reporting marks in three languages and a number.

Some Eastern European countries that interchanged with Western Euro countries use letters in their reporting marks that aren't even in the English alphabet including Russian equipemnt with dual gauge.

Denmark is DSB, but sometimes HFJ or HTJ for small "private" railways wich hardly ever have freight cars any more and also are hardly private.

Tank cars are usualy private companys just like over here and the big ones are VTG and EVA.

[M636C]

I have pulled out a book "Taschenbuch Deutsche Gueterwagen" and will quote their example of European reporting marks, a DB Gbrs-v 254 class 14.5 metre covered van. This goes

21 RIV
80 DB
155 9 084-5
*Gbrs-v 254

The 21 RIV are the interchange code in numbers and letters
The 80 DB are the owner code in numbers and letters
The 155 9 is the wagon class in numbers
084 is the road number
-5 is the check digit
*Gbrs-v 254 is the wagon code and diagram number

Other owner codes are

70 British Rail
71 RENFE (Spain)
83 FS (Italy)
87 SNCF (France)

and of course

99 Iraq (I know it isn't in Europe)

Some code letters are

E - open wagon
G - covered wagon
I - refrigerator car
K - flat wagon

I'm hoping my German translation is accurate!

Peter

[daveklepper]

Thanks for the additional information. I'm sure there are others who can add to it. Dave