COTS dates

[nkalanaga]

Question:  When were the 2-panel COTS stencils first used?  I've read that they were required starting July 1, 1974, that they were introduced then and required later, and that they were introduced in 1973.  No two sources seem to agree. 

Does anyone have a firm date for the introduction?  I'm assuming that, if they were required on July 1, 1974, they were used for at least a while before that date.

[nkalanaga]

Update:  They had to be introduced in or before 2-74, as I found a P-S builders photo from then showing the 2-panel style:

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=pc220225&o=pc
From this page:
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/displayrailway.pl?o=pc

Strange.  The image won't show, and the coding is correct.  Replacing the address with an image from another site works, and the address is correct, because the url link works.  I've never seen that one before.

In any case, this picture, also a P-S builders photo, shows the earlier single-panel style in 1-74:

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=pc890728&o=pc

So. it looks like I've answered my own question:  February, 1974. 
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/index.html  may not be the largest collection of online railway pictures, and they have a lot of B&W pictures, but at least they give dates for almost all of the photos in the index pages.  Very handy when looking for stuff like this!

[C855B]

According to this reference, consolidated (2-panel) stencils were required for new or rebuilt cars starting in '72.

[nkalanaga]

Thank you!  A very interesting page.

And an example of what I mean - sources are wildly contradictory.   From your reference:
"The A.A.R. began a program of consolidated Stencils in 1972 which applied
to new or rebuilt freight cars only.  Application to existing cars was not
mandatory.  The F.R.A.(Federal Railroad Administration)created in 1966
issued in July 1974  a mandate for all freight cars to begin having the
new consolidated stencils applied. "

Apparently, the 1972 requirement was for the original single panel style, while the 2-panel version was required in 1974.   I have never seen a picture of a 2-panel COTS on a car before 1974, but a lot of them didn't get one until several years after 1974.  The single panel style does appear in the early 70s, but few older cars seem to have them, which matches the "new or rebuilt" part.   On the other hand, that page clearly says "begin having them", so they also weren't required BY July 1, 1974, as some of the sources I've seen said. 

In any case, it appears that the 2-panel style was in use in June of 1974, my preferred cutoff date, so I can leave them on cars if I want to.   That's good to know, because they're very hard to scrape off of some cars!

[lajmdlr]

The white on black COTS boxes started in 1972 for just airbrake info. In 1978 the two part ones started for both airbrake & lube info. From 1978 on they are called "Consolidated Stencils" no mater how many parts they have these days. Used to work at a company that did RR airbrake components.

[cv_acr]

Strange.  The image won't show, and the coding is correct.  Replacing the address with an image from another site works, and the address is correct, because the url link works.  I've never seen that one before.

You've just pasted the page link into the image. That link is for a full page that has the image displayed in it, so that doesn't work to paste in between the img tags.

You pasted:
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=pc220225&o=pc
which is the link to the image display page, but not the image itself, which is:
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/pc/pc220225.jpg