# Guide to Dating Rolling Stock



## NURR (Oct 31, 2016)

Hi all,

I'm very new to this.

Is there a definitive guide to dating rolling stock so I buy freight cars from the correct era? I've been able to find this info on locomotives and passenger cars pretty easily but it seems more hit and miss on dating tanks cars, hopper cars, box cars etc.

Are there any books or websites the have this info in one place?

Thanks!

Jeff


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

NURR said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm very new to this.
> 
> ...


Freight car lettering will have a "Built" or "New" date as part of the information on the side of the car, and if the car has been "Rebuilt", that date will be there as well or instead of. You might need a magnifying glass to read some of it depending on the scale and your eyes. If the car was built on a date later than when you are modeling, you railroad will be a bit anachronistic, you can always use from an earlier time as older cars, but you need to keep in mind the interstate commerce rules about interchange. If a car is too old you might not be allowed to interchange it but I believe you could use it on the property, possibly in a work train.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Another ROUGH guide to railroad freight car dating
are the trucks. Are they 'friction' bearing or roller bearing?
While some locos and passenger cars had roller bearing
trucks in the late 30s, most freight cars had 'friction'
bearings into the early 60s.

Friction bearing trucks have a squarish 'box' over the
ends of the axles. This opened to permit stuffing in a
fabric material soaked with oil.

Roller bearing trucks usually showed a round end to
the axles. You often can see the axle turning as the
wheels roll.

Another factor is the design of the trucks themselves.
This link will show you various trucks and what years
they were used. You'll also see the round roller bearing
trucks as well as the 'friction' bearing trucks.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...=yhs-mozilla-001&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001

Don


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

NURR said:


> Is there a definitive guide to dating rolling stock so I buy freight cars from the correct era?


Let us know what era or time frame that you are interested in modeling. There are probably modelers on this forum who specialize in the same era as yours. They will likely chime in with some specific info.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

DonR said:


> Another ROUGH guide to railroad freight car dating are the trucks.


Model Railroad Hobbyist (a free, on-line magazine) published a detailed article on the history of freight trucks from 1900 to 1960. It is in their May 2013 issue.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com

One of the problems with trucks on model cars is that some companies don't pay much attention to the trucks, and use Bettendorf trucks (one of the most commonly-used trucks) on all of their cars, whether they are correct for that car and era or not.

On the positive side, several companies make replacement trucks in a variety of styles, and it is usually easy to switch out the trucks to get a more correct model.


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## NURR (Oct 31, 2016)

I am modeling the transition era. Focus on diesel with just a little steam. Mid to late 1950's.

For example when would these tank cars have been in service?

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Atlas-N-50002394-17-360-Gal-Tank-Car-Dupont-p/atl-50002394.htm

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Atlas-N-50002400-17-360-Gal-Tank-Car-Occidental-p/atl-50002400.htm


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

The seller of the tankers says 100 ton roller bearing trucks. That would put it in your 50s, 60s plus era and possibly into the
80s.

Don


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## 1905dave (Sep 18, 2016)

Official Railway Equipment Register - ORER

They are published 4 times a year.

Find one for the year or close to the year you are modeling. They list all the cars in interchange service on all the railroads in N America, giving initials, numbers, capacities and dimensions. NO pictures.

When you are shopping for models that would tell you if that number series was in service then. It won't tell you if the paint scheme is correct.

Mid to late fifties? Mostly riveted construction (not as much welded yet), 70 and 90 ton capacities (100 tons would be relatively rare.) Lots of 40 and 50 ft boxcars. 60 ft extremely rare. Covered hoppers where mostly 2 bay and airslides. The big grain and plastic pellet covered hoppers don't show up until the 1960's and 1970's.

Short of that, look at the built date on the car.

Those tank cars are about 20-30 years newer than your era. They would be 1980-1990 or later build and are painted for the 1990's-2000's.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

I believe that tank cars from the transition era still had separate frames under the tank. Those appear to use the tank as the frame and would be much later.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I don't believe those tank cars existed in the 1950's.....


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Only date rolling stock that you are compatible with.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Only date rolling stock that you are compatible with.


Though a one night stand could be fun. 

But sometimes it takes a few dates to determine if you are compatible.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

One night stands are dangerous in this day and age, never know what you'll catch.  I could end up with a Polar Express.


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> One night stands are dangerous in this day and age, never know what you'll catch.  I could end up with a Polar Express.


That sounds painful!  :goofball:


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Just my luck that our coupler heights would be different....:laugh:


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

What if their interests lie in tight bends or large grades? And could you handle the issues if they come from an interchange?


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Frankly, I just buy what I like. Rolling stock was keep until it literally fell apart, so even old, old stuff can be mixed with new. That said, of course you didn't have modern car carriers and container transporters back in the '20s, but I just don't worry about those concerns. 

If you are a person who does, the advice given earlier is pretty much all I can think of, unless you want to get deep into the weeds and start buying tomes like Pacific Fruit Express, by Thompson Church and Jones, which tell you more about PFE reefers, and reefer construction throughout history, than you can absorb.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'm with Lee, I buy stuff that catches my eye. I guess that's obvious from looking at some of my purchases!


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> One night stands are dangerous in this day and age, never know what you'll catch.  I could end up with a Polar Express.


I would have to agree, it's not worth the risk, but I really can't object to the movie too much, especially as often as I have seen it with my grandson.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

I'm with Lee & GRJ. I buy any railroad if I like the look. I'm not prototypical so a Hi-Railer would cringe looking at my layout.


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

There is just too much to be had that looks good on the rails! I decided early it was "anything goes" from shay's to bullet trains! I'm seriously thinking a small N scale loop for my "city subway"/"people mover/ "MONORAIL"(doublerail) whatchamacallit. on my HO layout so I can "collect" both!


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

@Chip, why not model an amusement park so the N-gauge has a place?  Throw some HO-scale people onto/into an N-scale steam train, and you're all set.

For me, I've been enjoying looking over the really old cars made entirely of wood. My target period included a lot of wood and metal cars so I'll be able to really mix up my trains.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

I'm not an "anything goes" type of guy, but I'm also not a stickler for everything having to be exactly right. Someone else on the forum uses the term "plausible" for items on their layout and that's how I feel with maybe a little more leniency. I think part of the fun and challenge is finding cars and locomotives that do fit together for the appropriate era and geographic region you're modeling.

Mark


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Spence said:


> I'm with Lee & GRJ. I buy any railroad if I like the look.


Which is why Lee has more locos than most hobby stores...


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Mark VerMurlen said:


> I think part of the fun and challenge is finding cars and locomotives that do fit together for the appropriate era and geographic region you're modeling.


That is my approach, too. It also keeps me within my budget and keeps me from buying stuff that will end up sitting in boxes forever.

Although, even with this restriction, it seems that I need to curtail my purchases...


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

You can’t always rely on the built date on rolling stock. Some Lionel stuff had the date that it was produced by Lionel (not the date of the prototype). Not sure if they still do that. The Menard’s Reading Hopper I just got has a 2017 build date.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

MtRR75 said:


> That is my approach, too. It also keeps me within my budget and keeps me from buying stuff that will end up sitting in boxes forever.
> 
> Although, even with this restriction, it seems that I need to curtail my purchases...


You just need to build a MUCH larger layout!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

MtRR75 said:


> That is my approach, too. It also keeps me within my budget and keeps me from buying stuff that will end up sitting in boxes forever.
> 
> Although, even with this restriction, it seems that I need to curtail my purchases...




At least your locomotives won't wear out! :laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

http://www.steamerafreightcars.com/gallery/boxauto/ba39123main.html
http://www.utlx.com/history.html
http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/pacific_car.htm
https://books.google.com/books?id=_...=Frameless welded railroad tank cars&f=false
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?cid=12&Page=21
Here are some sites to get you started. Another forum I belong to has been doing a club car since 2006, and we have mountains of research data on all the cars we've done to date. Some of the links are information only, and others are rosters with photos and data.
Don


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Lehigh74 said:


> You can’t always rely on the built date on rolling stock. Some Lionel stuff had the date that it was produced by Lionel (not the date of the prototype). Not sure if they still do that. The Menard’s Reading Hopper I just got has a 2017 build date.


Especially if you're looking at older pieces. I have several old Tyco cars that are the same model with different paint, and they seem to show build dates through about a 60-year period. I would expect newer models to have more accurate dates based on the actual car they were modeled from.


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Can't resist this: no kissing on the first date!
Don


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

Don F said:


> Can't resist this: no kissing on the first date!
> Don


Damn, There go most of my "first dates".


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