Hello!
I recently came into ownership of (what I believe to be) a small piece of Pennsy history, a 2'x2' placard that appears to be off of a PRR boxcar. I'd like to know more about the piece, what the abbreviations stand for, and when placards like these were used and I figured I'd try my luck submitting my question to this forum. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance! I did some online scouring and came across what looks like an example of one of these placards in use.
(If images are too large for this forum I apoligize, this is my first post and won't feel bad if the post is deleted as a result!)
Flourish, I'm not seeing any pix.
The photos must already be online (try Imgur), and you have to post links to them.
Still in training.
It appears my photos were in fact too large, here they are:
https://ibb.co/9Wr07n2 The PRR Placard
https://ibb.co/sbZHrdr Reference photo
If you can't post a photo, what does the placard say?
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
It looks to be a part of the car - perhaps removed during scrapping or repair? - with the consolidated stencil boxes (or whatever they were called) that started to be used in the 1970's. Note it's largely blank, but does show the car's build date ("BLT 12-65")
wjstixIt looks to be a part of the car...
I usually think of a placard as something that's affixed to the car, ie a hazmat diamond, as opposed to something that's actually painted on the car, such as this likely was.
So I agree with wjstix.
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...
flourish96 It appears my photos were in fact too large, here they are: https://ibb.co/9Wr07n2 The PRR Placard https://ibb.co/sbZHrdr Reference photo
Placards both on railroads and in trucking are devices normally used to identify hazardous commodities being hauled in whatever vehicle the placards are applied to.
What the OP pictured was a steel plate afixed to the car to provide a location for various required information about the car and its maintenance to be displayed.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
The build date/air brake information chart is usually just painted on the side of the car. It is unusual to see it on a plate like this.
Along with the build date it tells you what type of air brake the car has and when it was replaced or overhauled. If the car had plain bearings the date when they were last repacked would be written somewhere else on the car.
Is the boxcar in your second photo in camo paint?
The boxcar in the second photo was just something I found online that appears to have the same type of plate that I now own, just wanted to attach it to give a reference to what my piece may have looked like in action (couldn't find any photos of PRR boxcars with this piece on it however).
Thanks for the info on the abbreviations!
Someone like Carl will know from the PRR car number and the build date (shortly before the merger) what type of car this was. If that does not work, join the PRR group at groups.io or try RyPN.
SD70DudeIs the boxcar in your second photo in camo paint?
That boxcar also has "Toys for Tots" logos on it - I suspect the Marines (who often sponsor such drives) were able to do some modification with the blessing of whomever loaned the car to them...
The plate with the info in question looks like it was cut off the side of a car with a torch.
The consolidated stencil hasn't been required on freight cars for a few years. You still see them, but I believe some of the information that appeared on the stencil is no longer required to be displayed on the car. Probably due to the increased use of computers to track and record everything.
Jeff
Without digging too deeply, the PRR car involved appears to be a gon.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
It's probably from a Conrail repaint of a PRR car. The original owner is frequently listed on such cars.
I believe that the built date was moved from the car body to the consolidated stencil when they came into use.
Mark Vinski
CShaveRR Without digging too deeply, the PRR car involved appears to be a gon.
If you don't mind answering, what makes you think that? The person I bought it off of claimed it was off a boxcar but I wouldn't be surprised if he was misinformed
Several things...a fellow carchaeologist who's making up a PRR freight car roster attributes this number to the G36 class of cars. My autistic fixation with numbers recalls that the PRR 300000 series was occupied by gondolas. And finally, the comment that this number was of the type stencilled by Conrail on renumbered cars [and PC cars as well, but the color's wrong] rings true. Those numbers appear on the upper portion of the car, and the consolidated stencil appeared on the lower right. The only type of car where those stencils could be that close together would be...a gon!
I went from having this piece and only knowing it as a PRR "placard" off of a boxcar to learning that it's a consolidated stencil possibly off of a Conrail/PC G36 gondola. Thanks a ton to everyone who helped me get a better understanding of what I bought!
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