# UP gets a new car



## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

I saw this last night. This must have been hot off the showroom floor. No dust, weathering or graffiti! I have no idea what the 2 vents on one end are. There was no refer unit on the end. The middle placard said something about a safety train and the right one had glare no matter where I stood. I guess it is prototypical to have shiny new cars.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Looks like one of the big 84' autoparts boxcars to me.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Sorry for the links but I tried everything and could not get the pics to show. It was a long car, maybe hauling Tesla parts to the factory in Fremont, Ca.!!!


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Can't really make anything out in the image, but the reporting marks is a 4 character private mark ending with X. Can't quite read what the individual letters are though to ID the official owner.

If the one placard reads "Safety Train" it's probably some sort of training car. Looks like it's rebuilt from an older (late 1960s-early 1970s design) 60' boxcar.


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Think I found it:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2014/10/24/3313654_union-pacific-boxcar-classroom.html?rh=1

MCVX reporting marks translates to Firefighters Education & Traning Foundation, ex Massachussets Call/Volunteer Firefighters Association. Obviously the car is outfitted as a partnership between them and UP.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

The reporting marks are MCVX 911119. It sure looked new to me. Oops, you are quick!


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

It is a brand new car. Well, old beat up box car redone. This one and it's sister car were painted by the Union Tank Car Shop in Altoona PA. The inside was completed in W. Springfield MA. This is the 3rd of 4 cars we will have done for the UP. It is a self-contained classroom car for the Haz-mat group at the UP. It carries it's own genset, fuel, HVAC system and one killer AV system. We also constructed 3 tank cars, 2 classroom cars and a flat car with tank car domes for Dow Chemical which has regularly toured the UP system.
I was surprised no one spotted it running from Chicago to CA on the tail end of a van train. 
Rob
The Firefighters Education and Training Foundation


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

*Some construction pics*


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

It is prototypical for reqorked or new cars to be shiny since they do have new paint.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Railrob, had to look up the firefightes education and training foundation, intresting. Never knew about it. We just have passenger trains here, and njt basically tells us to stay away. Its there jurisdiction.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

The HVAC system explains the vents at one end. I'm still wondering why the first stop was in this small town when it was built on the East coast.


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

RRgrassi- the car should stay shiny for most of its life. After a lot of experimenting, we found a paint that drys with a hard, high shine and is graffiti proof. Not sure about the UP cars yet but the rest of the fleet rotate home for maintenance and washing once or twice a year. So we try to keep them looking nearly new.
SJM9911- I forget the exact date and location but sometime next month the SWAT training train will be in NJ.
And Bwells- It was UP decision as to where they wanted to introduce the car. The 2 tank cars we did for them both went to CA to be introduced.


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

I like to run my cars and locomotives shiny like they just came out of the paint shop.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

rrgrassi said:


> I like to run my cars and locomotives shiny like they just came out of the paint shop.


I do too, but thats because there so rusted and bent up I have to paint them! The car is nice, and if the new paint will keep it clean, good for them.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Railrob: thanks for the info. It sounds like you have first hand knowledge which I appreciate. I guess we will test the paint when they drag it through Los Angeles, those guys can tag a car on the fly!!!


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

We have already had one of the UP tank cars tagged. There is a release agent made by the paint manufacturer and it just wipes the graffiti right off. Also had the entire side of one of our passenger cars tagged as well. It was all removed and with a little polish, looked as if it was never tagged.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Way to go railrob and thanks for the info. What were the tank cars for?


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

Both tank cars for UP are for training in hazmat. Each has end doors allowing for demonstrations of different valves which are mounted along one wall and bench seating is on the other wall. Under the floor is water storage. On top are the different domes currently used on tank cars. The water storage is plumbed to a pump which feeds water and air from a small compressor to the valves in the domes simulating a leaky valve. A generator powers them and interior lighting. One of the tanks has a number of cuts in the side of the tank and are plumbed to leak allowing patching practice.


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Railbob: thanks for the info. Is there a plan to connect all the cars and travel as a unit? If so, will it be it's own train or be haul with freight?


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## railrob (Oct 28, 2014)

They could but unsure right now. The 3 cars we have done for them have so far done separate events. The Dow train, which first tour was around the the UP system, ran in a dedicated train with UP 4141 as the power.


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