I enjoyed the article about the BNSF Southern Transcon in the Feb issue.
There is a chart showing all the trains in a 24 hr. period. It has a key explaining what the ten characters in the train symbols denote. However, there are actually ELEVEN characters. Each symbol ends with a letter as its 11th character. Does anyone know what that letter signifies?
Still in training.
Yes.
GBSD70ACe Yes.
It stands for the day of the month that the train originated. All symbols may be explained on a search of BNSF train symbols.
NP EddieIt stands for the day of the month that the train originated. All symbols may be explained on a search of BNSF train symbols.
So BNSF has figured a way to identify 31 days of a 'max month' with the 26 letters of the normal alphabet?????
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
NP Eddie It stands for the day of the month that the train originated. All symbols may be explained on a search of BNSF train symbols.
Actually not. Digits 9 and 10 comprise the date of the month the train originated. The 11th digit is a letter, and the key on the Trains chart omitted explaining that one.
I may do a web search, as you suggested.
BaltACD NP Eddie It stands for the day of the month that the train originated. All symbols may be explained on a search of BNSF train symbols. So BNSF has figured a way to identify 31 days of a 'max month' with the 26 letters of the normal alphabet?????
What I found indicates that the eleventh character can have many different meanings regarding routing, contents, and a host of other variables.
Digits nine and ten are the day of the month.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Thanks, Larry. Now I don't have to search.
Lithonia Operator Thanks, Larry. Now I don't have to search.
Had to check several sites before I found an explanation of that last digit.
My first thought had been that it was a check digit of some sort.
Perhaps they are using a variation of the Danish alphabet which has 28 letters. In all of my travels to Copenhagen I could not pronounce a word or name with the extra letters. One of the people I worked with name was 0/ygin with the 0/ to be the Greek letter phi. My initial stab at her name was Phygin. She said it was Agin. Oh well we are still friends even after I butchered her name.
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