Midwest Visitor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Listening to my scanner in the Portland (OR) area
> while visiting friends, I couldn't make sense out
> of some of the car numbers a trainman was relaying
> to the engineer over the radio. Some of the car
> numbers had no initials...after hearing it a
> couple of times, decided to write some down:
> examples NDYX 515249; 22363; another TTZX 84659;
> then MKT 14044 followed by 18775; CMO 21292;
> 22362; UP 90312 followed by 22263. Only thing I
> could figure out was these are track numbers the
> cars go to?
>
> Do some cars not have initials any more? This was
> heard last Monday around Wilsonville, OR (south of
> Portland) on channel 161.340; any idea who I was
> listening to?
>
> Fred Mitchell
> Houston, TX

Fred and all;

From the description and car numbers, you were listening to the Oregon Pacific at Canby...must have been at a pretty good elevation to hear us in Wilsonville!

Actually what you were hearing was the car number (NDYX 515249) followed by the load limit (223) and tare (empty) weight (63) in thousands of pounds. A hopper of corn, this one adds up to
286 (000) pounds or what we consider a "heavy" car.

TTZX 84659 is an empty centerbeam (whether it is a "heavy" or "light" is determined when it goes out as a load), but not at this time.

On the other hand, MKT 14044, a load of steel coil, has a load limit of 187(000) pounds and a tare weight of 75 (000) which add up around 263 (000) pounds or a "light" car.

The Class I (UP) pays us a slightly higher rate for the heavy cars vs light ones, the difference of which we invest in track and bridge upgrades to handle the heavier cars.

Hope you enjoyed the "show".

Dick Samuels
www.oregonpacificrr.com