Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 ggr 10/28/83; site pyuxdd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!pyuxdd!rib From: rib@pyuxdd.UUCP (RI Block) Newsgroups: net.railroad Subject: Re: Explanation of markings on freight cars sought Message-ID: <221@pyuxdd.UUCP> Date: Fri, 24-Feb-84 13:44:41 EST Article-I.D.: pyuxdd.221 Posted: Fri Feb 24 13:44:41 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 25-Feb-84 04:25:00 EST References: <704@ihuxq.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Piscataway Lines: 21 Herein I expose my limited knowledge on the subject, but here goes: Once upon a time, all the cars that ran on US Railroads were owned by said railroads with the exception of express cars. Express cars are freight cars with passenger running gear (steam hoses, double brake hoses, etc) which were hooked in to the head of passenger consists and hauled under contract for express companies (Mercury Express, American Express, ... the last one I don't know if it was an original company or not was the Railway Express Agency -> "REA Express" Freight cars of other railroads were used under an interchange agreement where the user paid a daily rental and attempted to send the car back to its home sort of like "net.mail.headers" either through an interchange point or a reconstruction of how it came. With the decline of finantial health of RR's, private owners began to provide cars either because the design was non-standard, or there were not enough RR owned cars available. I believe that the private owner was compensated at a higher daily rate that paid to interchange (RR-owned cars). Anyhow, non-railroad owned cars have a marking that always ends in "X".