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Track manufacturer

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  • Member since
    August 2006
  • From: South Dakota
  • 1,592 posts
Track manufacturer
Posted by Dakguy201 on Friday, October 5, 2007 7:45 AM

I recently saw a length of rail marked "BS Co LACKAWANA OH IX 1929 100 A"

I understand it through the OH as well as the 1929 100, but what is the IX?  Roman numeral 9?  What information is it trying to convey?

What is the A? 

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Denver / La Junta
  • 10,820 posts
Posted by mudchicken on Friday, October 5, 2007 8:47 AM

IX = September

A = Section (Sure there aren't a few more letters, like AR-A or AR-B?, its the difference between AREA and AAR)

 

(Bethlehem Steel Co...Lackawanna Works...Open Hearth....(IX) September 1929...100 Lbs./Yd...A (RA--A.R.E.A. Cross-Section Design)

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
  • Member since
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  • From: Allentown, PA
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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Friday, October 5, 2007 12:33 PM

 

The "A" in this instance is probably Bethlehem Steel Co.'s shorthand designation for the "American Railroad Association - Type A" series of rail sections, also known as "100 ARA-A" and "100 RA".  (It may also be for the A.S.C.E. series of sections, but I doubt that.)

For more info, refer to the "Tee Rail Sections Data" chart on the A & K Railroad Materials website:

 thehttp://www.akrailroad.com/OnlineCatalog/RailJointBars/TeeRailSectionsData/tabid/76/Default.aspx 

 I'll add a little more info later, when I have more time.

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)

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