What do the letters on rail cars mean?
Railroad cars are identified by two, three, or four letters and by a number of up to six digits. The letters, known as reporting marks, indicate the owner of the car, while the number places it in the owner’s fleet. Reporting marks ending in X indicate ownership by a private company as opposed to a railroad.
Where are reporting marks found on railroad tank cars?
The mark is stenciled on the sides of equipment such as locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars. The number that follows a reporting mark is a fleet/car number assigned by the owner.
What are reporting marks used for?
A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equipment.
What does TTX Railroad stand for?
Trailer Train
TTX was founded in 1955 by the Norfolk & Western Railway, Pennsylvania Railroad and Rail-Trailer Corporation. Pennsylvania Railroad employees – 6,000 in total – entered possible names in a drawing for the new company, and the name “Trailer Train” won.
How do you tell what a train is carrying?
Red, diamond-shaped placards can indicate which dangerous goods trains are carrying. With rail companies often reluctant to talk about the dangerous cargo on their trains, safety placards can give the public some insight into what rail cars are carrying. The information is often included on safety placards.
Does TTX get railroad retirement?
While TTX is not a railroad company, it does come under the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act rather than the Social Security Act. The objective is the same: federally-sponsored accident, sickness, disability, unemployment, and pension benefits paid for by employers and employees.
Is TTX a private company?
TTX is privately-owned by North America’s leading railroads and functions as the industry’s railcar cooperative, operating under pooling authority granted by the Surface Transportation Board the successor to the ICC.
What are train hoppers called?
The term “hobo” is a loose one used to define everything from happy-go-lucky train hoppers to large homeless communities (and sometimes derogatorily so). But in its most popular definition, itinerant workers traveling the country by train use the word to describe themselves and their unique and intentional lifestyle.