New UP Freight Scheme???

[ljudice]

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5826112

Also note no consolidated stencil - no longer required.

[mu26aeh]

Non maintenance scheme due to graffiti

[peteski]

So they are giving in to the taggers. I guess since you can't beat them, the next best thing is to give them a canvas to do their thing without obfuscating the identifying marks.

[nkalanaga]

When did they get rid of the consolidated stencil?  And what replaced it?  Or don't they do periodic inspections, or worry about built dates, anymore?

[Jbub]

My bet is someone on the ground types in the car number into a database and all the pertinent information is right there. No need to put it on the car anymore.

[John]

My bet is someone on the ground types in the car number into a database and all the pertinent information is right there. No need to put it on the car anymore.

They could be using the AEI tags .. If you can read the car info with an application, the maintenance data could also be combined .. I don't know if it works this way - but it seems logical

[Jbub]

They could be using the AEI tags .. If you can read the car info with an application, the maintenance data could also be combined .. I don't know if it works this way - but it seems logical

That or use number recognition technology like red light cameras or license plate scanners that police use. A service truck can run along side a manifest and identify cars that need to be maintained. No input needed from the driver. The railroad could even put a scanner on an arrival track for any incoming trains eliminating the need for an employee to do the work. The AEI tag would work better though since paint can't block the RF signal.

[ljudice]

I've seen 2016 and 2021 as the end of the COTS mandate.  Ive definitely seen new cars since 2016 with COTS though...

[nkalanaga]

Ljudice:  If they just ended the mandate, and didn't actually ban them, I wouldn't be surprised if some roads are still using them, just for their own use. 

The BN used ACI labels, especially on iron ore cars, long after they were no longer required.  As far as I know, the BN never removed one, unless it was damaged, or the car number changed, although many of their new cars didn't receive them.  I was still seeing them until I quit seeing BN freight cars.

[ljudice]

Ljudice:  If they just ended the mandate, and didn't actually ban them, I wouldn't be surprised if some roads are still using them, just for their own use. 

The BN used ACI labels, especially on iron ore cars, long after they were no longer required.  As far as I know, the BN never removed one, unless it was damaged, or the car number changed, although many of their new cars didn't receive them.  I was still seeing them until I quit seeing BN freight cars.

I think you're right because these UP cars are the first I've seen without them.   I usually have the Tuscon (UP) or Roanoke (NS) Railcams on and have been looking for this for months.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

My bet is someone on the ground types in the car number into a database and all the pertinent information is right there. No need to put it on the car anymore.

Yep. COTS has been replaced with IPAD.

[nkalanaga]

Interesting.  Could be real interesting if we ever have an event that knocks out the internet for any length of time.  A big solar flare could do it, with no warning, especially if the database is stored in a single location.  If there are multiple mirror sites, it would be a lot harder to disable it.

Hopefully somebody is also keeping hardcopy!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Interesting.  Could be real interesting if we ever have an event that knocks out the internet for any length of time.  A big solar flare could do it, with no warning, especially if the database is stored in a single location.  If there are multiple mirror sites, it would be a lot harder to disable it.

Hopefully somebody is also keeping hardcopy!

If that happens the last lube date of a covered hopper is pretty low down the things I'd be worried about.

[signalmaintainer]

They could be using the AEI tags .. If you can read the car info with an application, the maintenance data could also be combined .. I don't know if it works this way - but it seems logical

The car appears to have AEI transponders.

[nkalanaga]

Ed:  That's why I mentioned hardcopy.  Lose modern communications and railroads might be one of the best options for transport.  They can still run on timetables and train orders, even without the internet.   It might take a little while for everyone to get familiar with the old ways, but they'd still work.

Actually, any industry that relies on modern electronic communications needs either hardcopy or non-volatile digital backup.  For what it's worth, a solar flare will NOT damage offline hard drives.  It will only effect stuff connected to the grid, or other long metallic conductors, such as railroad tracks and pipelines.  Your computer is only at risk from power surges, not from the flare itself.