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Graffiti on Auto Rack Cars

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:21 PM

Flintlock76
Spray paint doesn't come cheap either, especially in the amounts they use. 

You're presuming that they actually buy it...

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Posted by SD70Dude on Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:07 PM

Overmod

magnesium powder

Shoot into a puddle.......

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:01 PM

caldreamer
One way to discourage the little hoodlums is a 12 gauge round filled with rock salt. 

You left out the magnesium powder with the rock salt. That's much more convincing.  It even works on drunken Ivy Leaguers.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Thursday, July 16, 2020 8:37 PM

caldreamer

One way to discourge the little hoodlems is a 12 gausge round filled with rock salt.  Won't kill them as well as salt in an open wound hurts like hell.  Also when they can't sit down for a month it might also help discouage them.

Yeah, no.

Besides, you have to find them first.  Good luck.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by caldreamer on Thursday, July 16, 2020 8:05 PM

One way to discourge the little hoodlems is a 12 gausge round filled with rock salt.  Won't kill them as well as salt in an open wound hurts like hell.  Also when they can't sit down for a month it might also help discouage them.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, July 16, 2020 7:30 PM

Psychot
Like others here, I've always been very impressed by the taggers who manage to cover the entire side of an auto rack.

Well, we should qualify that.

I'm impressed with the effort and execution, a lot of it's very ingenious and makes great use of color and style, BUT, anyway you slice it, it's still vandalism. 

Imagine if they put that kind of effort onto traditional canvas.  And don't say "They probably can't afford regular art supplies."  Uh-uh!  Spray paint doesn't come cheap either, especially in the amounts they use. 

 

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Posted by Psychot on Thursday, July 16, 2020 6:24 PM

Murphy Siding

 

 
Flintlock76

And it's not just here either!  Several years ago a poster linked a photo of a freight train in Italy  that had been tagged with the same kind of crap you see in this country!  

Being of Italian extraction I was most disappointed and displeased!  I might have expected well-executed replicas of work by Raphaello, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo,  Caravaggio, Donatello, well, you get the picture!  But noooooooo...

Whole world's going to hell in a handbasket!

Except Singapore.  Don't try that stuff there!

 

 

 

I know how you feel. Imagine my disappointment when I saw photos of Norwegian train cars with graffiti vandalism. Not a single fjord on any of them! Whistling

 

 

In my experience graffiti is not only more pravalent in Europe, the quality of it is much lower. We have some really good taggers in the U.S--true artists--while most European graffiti is something written in black spray paint.

Like others here, I've always been very impressed by the taggers who manage to cover the entire side of an auto rack.

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Posted by JPS1 on Thursday, July 16, 2020 9:39 AM

York1
....I think I remember reading that the major railroads take care of these kinds of accidents, rather than having insurance.

Is that correct?

Many corporations have a large insurance deductible.  They usually cover it with a reserve fund. 
 
Funding for the reserve fund is usually baked into the price of the goods and/or services.  So, it is the customers – collectively – that pay for uninsured damages.  It would be rare for the stockholders to have to eat the expense. 
 

To know for sure how much of the loss, if any, is covered by insurance, one would need to look at UP’s insurance policies and provisions for loss reserve accounts.  

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Posted by alphas on Thursday, July 16, 2020 8:33 AM

 Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off. https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP. Just the cost of doing business as a Class 1 railroad. Balt, I think I remember reading that the major railroads take care of these kinds of accidents, rather than having insurance. Is that correct?

 

 

Large corporations and other similar entities always have large deductibles on their insurances.     $1,000,000 is common for property and casuality losses.    Many of the bigger ones also use their own "captive" insurance companies for various amounts as the first layer of protection before outside insurance kicks in.    Usually there are various "layers" from different insurance companies.    Its common for Lloyds to write the top layer.    

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Posted by Paul Milenkovic on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 11:19 PM

York1

 

 
BaltACD

 

 
York1
Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off. 

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard

I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

 

Just the cost of doing business as a Class 1 railroad.

 

 

 

 

Balt, I think I remember reading that the major railroads take care of these kinds of accidents, rather than having insurance.

Is that correct?

 

 

My understanding of the auto biz is that owing to the various fix costs and overheads in running an auto company, there really isn't any one set "price" for an automobile. 

There is the sticker price (manufacturer suggested retail price or MSRP), the dealer invoice price, the "real" dealer price after various kinds of dealer rebates to "move the metal" not revealed to the customer and the price for bulk fleet purchases, which are often argued to be below the "economic" price to recoup the fixed costs and overheads of keeping an auto company going.  

Back many more years than I care to admit, there was a rock-bottom "internal price" when someone inside the company needed a car to test engine tunings and what got charged against your department budget for that.  So car pricing is much like railroad rates in that railroads too have fixed costs and overheads that have to be paid by somebody, an argument that gets lost on some in the passenger rail advocacy community.

So if the UP wrecks a bunch of automobiles, what price do they compensate the auto company?  If things were done rationally, the railroad might have an agreement to compensate for the auto company's "internal price" inasmuch they crank out a few more cars that they have already "sold" to dealers or customers custom ordering?  If the compensation was higher, that would have to be reflected in a higher freight rate?

Not saying such things are done rationally, though.

If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 9:19 PM

York1
 
BaltACD 
York1
Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off. 

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard

I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP. 

Just the cost of doing business as a Class 1 railroad. 

Balt, I think I remember reading that the major railroads take care of these kinds of accidents, rather than having insurance.

Is that correct?

My understanding is that the Class 1's only have insurance for catastrophic incidents.  I have heard various figures for the 'deductable' being between half a million and a million (and what the railroads are calculating the damages on are not the retail value of any of the products involved).

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 8:50 PM

BaltACD

 

 
York1
Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off. 

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard

I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

 

Just the cost of doing business as a Class 1 railroad.

 

 

Balt, I think I remember reading that the major railroads take care of these kinds of accidents, rather than having insurance.

Is that correct?

York1 John       

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 7:54 PM

York1
Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off. 

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard

I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

Just the cost of doing business as a Class 1 railroad.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by SALfan on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 7:34 PM

ChuckCobleigh

 

 
York1
I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

 

In the seventies, it might have been Pinto hatchbacks.Stick out tongue

 

Pinto - the only car I've ever seen with a painted flame job on the REAR end.

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Posted by DARYL ACHENBACH on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 7:33 PM
Railroad police with one class 1 I am aware of have been cutting their police department manpower and rumor is to possibly eliminate them and rely on security guards. Some railroad police are not doing any trespassing or traffic (crossing) enforcement and are basically doing work for their respective Claims Dept. Years ago railroads upped the dollar amount of damage or theft of a commodity/loss to the point a shipper would be unable to file a claim, (unless the whole railcar burned up) Just handled through new freight rates. Cheaper shipping rate to not file a claim in the event of loss or damage unless major..
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Posted by JPS1 on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 7:14 PM

York1
 I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP. 

The loss probably will be worn by UP's insurance carrier, which could subsequently impact UP's insurance premiums.  

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Posted by Paul Milenkovic on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 6:50 PM

ChuckCobleigh

 

York1
I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

 

In the seventies, it might have been Pinto hatchbacks.Stick out tongue

 

 Today, it is Teslas?

 

If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 6:47 PM

York1
I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

In the seventies, it might have been Pinto hatchbacks.Stick out tongue

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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 12:16 PM

Here's a solution to graffiti on Union Pacific's auto carriers -- burn it off.

 

 

https://nebraska.tv/news/local/north-platte-fire-dept-gives-details-behind-train-car-fire-at-bailey-yard

 

I didn't read what kind of new cars were in the carrier, but it has to be an expensive loss for UP.

York1 John       

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 12:07 PM

Flintlock76

And it's not just here either!  Several years ago a poster linked a photo of a freight train in Italy  that had been tagged with the same kind of crap you see in this country!  

Being of Italian extraction I was most disappointed and displeased!  I might have expected well-executed replicas of work by Raphaello, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo,  Caravaggio, Donatello, well, you get the picture!  But noooooooo...

Whole world's going to hell in a handbasket!

Except Singapore.  Don't try that stuff there!

 

I know how you feel. Imagine my disappointment when I saw photos of Norwegian train cars with graffiti vandalism. Not a single fjord on any of them! Whistling

 

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 11:56 AM

Flintlock76

Except Singapore.  Don't try that stuff there!

 
Don't try anything of any kind resembling non-conformity in Singapore that doesn't pass muster with the authorities.
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Posted by JPS1 on Monday, July 13, 2020 5:59 PM

Flintlock76
  Except Singapore.  Don't try that stuff there! 

I visited or passed through Singapore four or five times when I lived in Australia.  Cleanest streets and transit system that I have ever seen.  

 

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, July 13, 2020 4:47 PM

And it's not just here either!  Several years ago a poster linked a photo of a freight train in Italy  that had been tagged with the same kind of crap you see in this country!  

Being of Italian extraction I was most disappointed and displeased!  I might have expected well-executed replicas of work by Raphaello, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo,  Caravaggio, Donatello, well, you get the picture!  But noooooooo...

Whole world's going to hell in a handbasket!

Except Singapore.  Don't try that stuff there!

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, July 13, 2020 4:30 PM

rrnut282
I want to know how they get that high up to paint the entire side of an autorack.  That's 20' above the rail. 

Maybe a better question is how they can get in, with a ladder, and do that much painting without detection, particularly in a manned yard.  I can see it if the car is in storage in the middle of nowhere.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by rrnut282 on Monday, July 13, 2020 4:23 PM

tree68

Saw one some years ago on which the entire side of the car was painted - top to bottom.  The "background" was a nice blue, though.  The lettering covered the entire side of the car.  That's a lot of rattle cans...

 

I want to know how they get that high up to paint the entire side of an autorack.  That's 20' above the rail. 

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Posted by samfp1943 on Sunday, July 12, 2020 11:48 PM

n012944

Most auto rack cars have spent the last couple of months in storage.  Ripe time to get tagged.

 

  Execelent observation!  Whistling  Just recently, within the last 3 or 4 weeks, those auto rack cars are starting to move West...At least one train, of autoracks  a day has been passing here; graffiti seems to be more evident than usual, on many.
MischiefStrange, though is the double unit sets (completely enclosed cars, I think many are in assigned service to one customer(?).  I have not seen many of those, primarily, they have been BNSF and AOK...
  Have not seen any of the KCS car sets yet.   Those have always seemed to escape the 'artists'; very little 'art' has been rendered on them, in the past.  They, regular auto racks, must be piling up on the west coast; giving the local 'artists'  subjects to work on(?) Sigh

 

 


 

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Posted by SD70Dude on Sunday, July 12, 2020 9:15 PM

There really aren't a whole lot of railroad cops compared to the large territory they have to cover.  And it is very easy for trespassers to hide in between cars in yards.  

I agree that most of the more detailed and complex graffiti is done when the cars are stored in unattended and/or outlying areas.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by zugmann on Sunday, July 12, 2020 9:10 PM

tree68
Saw one some years ago on which the entire side of the car was painted - top to bottom.  The "background" was a nice blue, though.  The lettering covered the entire side of the car.  That's a lot of rattle cans...

There was the famous (infamous?) STEEL set of 5 racks. I saw one of the Es once. 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, July 12, 2020 9:04 PM

Saw one some years ago on which the entire side of the car was painted - top to bottom.  The "background" was a nice blue, though.  The lettering covered the entire side of the car.  That's a lot of rattle cans...

LarryWhistling
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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...

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