Advertising on Railroad Cars Are Billboards coming back?

[samfp1943]

Flintlock76

Sam, I'd love to see the billboard cars come back, but you bring up a pretty good point about "taggers."  Taggers seem to find those big white Tropicana cars an irresistable "canvas" for their "art," to give one example.

As far as I know the rule against billboard cars doesn't apply as long as the cars don't leave home rails, hence the "Tropicana Train" which runs on CSX exclusively from Florida to New Jersey. 

By the way, the freight trains I run on my O gauge layout are pretty much exclusively classic billboard cars.  They just look so cool!

 

 

 

Wayne:  I know the subject of 'tagging' is normally verboten on these Forums. So Hopefully, we can dance that fine line?  As I had mentioned, previously, in this Thread, I have noticed more and more containers coming by that had some pretty serious, professional, graphics packages applied to them . 

    We've also seemed to get more and more of the 'newer'' reefer boxes, as well [BNSF owned, and Cyro-Trans, also. ]  Some, but not all, of the Big BNSF reefers are victims of tagging, and as well the C-T reefers, but they seems to mostly escape the serious taggers.  I read in another sites posting; depending on the size, and coverage of 'art'; an average 'paint repair' can cost the car's owner anywhere from $1 K to as much as a total repaint for something around several thousands. 

 

The old 'Billboard' reefers, got to be problematic, when one compeditor's car was loaded at a competing company...seemed to upset many folks for different reasons!  So they got 'ruled' out.  These days, containers seem to be everywhere, and trucking companies are used to having their 'trailers, well identified; so now they are on trains and moving all over, even in areas where they were never seen before. 

One advantage to those 'well-identified' trailers [and cans] is in the event of their theft, lost or astray, they can be readily identified by those looking to 'find' them!

 

The large size of current reefer cars, make them pretty hard to miss, if they go astray.

 

As to the older blllboard cars, I used to be able to buy them with decals of some of the more widely familiar 'moniker' writers.  Remember, some of the first guys writing on rail cars, were railroad workers themselves; they wrote info as to train numbers, position, pertinent dates, etc.     One I remember seeing back then was a drawing, in chalk of a palm tree, with a reclining figure wearing a sombrero, and the name across the bottom was 'Pedro' . Of course all the rr employees that worked the cars all seemed to carry big pieces of chalk.  

 

[Convicted One]

tree68

Much as I'd love to see some flashier graphics on the cars, I suspect we're going to be stuck with oxide red and reporting marks any more

There were some smaller outfits who had official liveries that were quasi graffiti...one comes to mind that I can't remember the name, but on their boxcars they painted their name along with a palm tree, a moon, and a lake if I recall properly.

Very similar in nature to "Herby"...  but without the man

[tree68]

wjstix

Railroad-owned cars weren't included in this, so railroads began putting large slogans and lettering on their cars about that time: "Way of the Zephyrs", "Southern Serves the South", etc.  

Can't forget UP's map cars.  

Much as I'd love to see some flashier graphics on the cars, I suspect we're going to be stuck with oxide red and reporting marks any more (OK, CSX paints their boxcars blue...)

And the occasional service mark like [CSX] and CN's lazy three.

The bean counters would rather see the $ go to the bottom line than fancy paint.

 

[wjstix]

You can't bring back something that never existed. A lot of people don't understand that railroads NEVER sold 'advertising space' on freight cars. What they did do, starting in the 1800s, do was lease cars to private companies, who then decorated the cars with their company name and perhaps information on their brand names and products. Some early lease cars would have the railroad name on one side, and the private company's name on the other. This may be where the confusion comes from re 'advertising' on railroad cars. (Early in the 20th century, railroads were forced to separate their refrigerator leasing operations to third party companies, due to federal anti-trust laws and regulations.)

Over time, the lettering got very large and colorful, and - as noted earlier - company A would refuse a reefer lettered for competitor B . This meant cars often had to be returned to the leasing company empty, meaning the railroad got less money than they would have back hauling a loaded car.

 The (1937-38 IIRC) rule change said lettering on a car couldn't be larger than I think 16" or 18", unless the owner / leasing co. agreed to pay the 'loaded' rate both ways. That meant virtually all 'billboard' reefers were repainted by about 1940.

Railroad-owned cars weren't included in this, so railroads began putting large slogans and lettering on their cars about that time: "Way of the Zephyrs", "Southern Serves the South", etc.

 

[Flintlock76]

Sam, I'd love to see the billboard cars come back, but you bring up a pretty good point about "taggers."  Taggers seem to find those big white Tropicana cars an irresistable "canvas" for their "art," to give one example.

As far as I know the rule against billboard cars doesn't apply as long as the cars don't leave home rails, hence the "Tropicana Train" which runs on CSX exclusively from Florida to New Jersey. 

By the way, the freight trains I run on my O gauge layout are pretty much exclusively classic billboard cars.  They just look so cool!

[samfp1943]

Watched a couple of east and westbound stackers pass, and got to wondering: Is there going to be a return to the old practice of car side advertising? BILLBOARDS on Cars?

Maybe YES/Maybe NO?   Post WWI, and Post WWII, there were minor upticks in the presence of billboarding on rail cars; Primarily, it seemed to be on the leased or privately owned reefer fleets.

* "...The Association of American Railroads Rule 84, which bans billboards on railroad cars. The rule came about because of logistics. For example, companies and union workers hated it when a car with a Swift & Co. ad would show up at an Armour meat-packing plant for loading. The AAR created Rule 84 to prevent customers from getting upset because of the ads on the cars..." *  

This is a rule, and not a law; but it sure shut down a problem that inflamed the trucker, unions and coprorate types that did not like it(?).

 My point is that as the presence of OTR Trailers, [and their various painted identity markings, and also a more recent presence of much more corporate identity graqphics appearing on their containers [ both reefer types, and dry cans.] 

  When the Billboard cars were rolling, way back when   Watching a train pass a crossing was an adventure. The advertising on cars was eye-catching, and caught the attention of those watching it go past.

  Amazon has added graphics to their 'cans',  Prime, with FFE, as well, have added some graphics. Graphics on trailers, and containers, as well as bright colored painted schemes seems to be growing trend? 

  And checking back in the TRAINSNewswire [May 15,2007]

             "The next big thing - billboards on rail cars?

see article linked@ https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2007/05/the-next-big-thing---billboards-on-rail-cars

The article cast a sort of negative perspective on the presence of car side advertising, and gave several reasons why it was against it.

FTA:"...For rail photographers, feelings over the ads are mixed. On the one hand they would add color to freight train consists. But others don't care for the ads. One said, "If this doesn't give you a reason to put your camera away and never take another picture of a train, I don't know what will."..."

Personally, I kinda like it, but then I wasw growing up; while I had model railroad layouts and models; I bought, and had many cars that had the billboard ads, even the various railroads used plain,but large graphics for their slogans and logos.    But then, I realized that all of that predated 'tagging'...