Steam Road Numbers

[SteamGene]

Bob,
If you want to create the fiction of a large railroad, instead of 611, 612, 613, 614, 618, try 611, 624, 630, 647, and 698. 
Gene

[rogertra]

DRW807

Thanks for the info re N&W tenders.  that comes as quite the surprise.

[rogertra]

Bob.

What can I say?

He bit through his leash. 

[DRW807]

Roger;

You're welcome.

Something I've learned in 56+ years of rail interest is that there is no universal rule when it came to railroads. Even the N&W, back in the 1800s, had the engine number on the side of the kerosene lantern mounted on the slopeback tenders. But they apparently did away with that in the late 1800s.

And transition era tenders had the tender number, capacity, AND N&W on some of them, as well as tech info for employees use, such as "Stoker sides removed from tender - beware of screws..." etc. (That last info was even included on the Bachmann model of the N&W J class tenders.)

[scottychaos]

All tenders carry the road number, with no exceptions.  Some in big bold numers on the side of the tender, some in bg bold numbers on the rear of the tender and some will small numbers on the rear of the tender but they all carried the road number.

I have learned to never use phrases like "no exceptions" or "all carried"
when talking about railroads..

There were all kinds of exceptions..
and far from "all" tenders carried a road number. 

you could say "with few exceptions" or "most carried" and be accurate...but never say "all" unless you have personally viewed every tender than has ever existed in the entire world.

Scot

[SteamGene]

Norfolk and Western didn't roll to a different drum - it had an entire different band!
Gene

[pdlethbridge]

Most steam engines had a tender behind Tony, when my brother was last down at steam town, the guide told him that 3713 had wheels on it from several of its sister engines. Tenders were swapped often, especially on the pennsy. so I guess numbering for them might have been a problem

[SteamGene]

Bpb, the East Broad Top interchanged with the Pensy, but, being narrow gauge, never left the home rails.  It was only some 30 miles long, but all the engines had numbers - they are necessary for crew identification.  Of course, you could give them names:  Trigger, Scout, Silver, Seabiscuit, Fluffy, Fido, etc, but numbers are easier.
Gene

[pdlethbridge]

Don't forget 'Millie"

[Yampa Bob]

Thanks Gene, I never thought of that.  All our cows had names, why not our locomotives.  Maybe just a small number somewhere to code my EZC.   

By the way, railroads have to pay for any livestock killed on the tracks. 

Bob

[Guilford Guy]

Why would the railroads pay? The cows are trespassing on railroad property?

[Yampa Bob]

Doesn't work that way.  It's my property, the railroad only has a right of way.  The right of way agreement says they have to build and maintain all fences through ranches and pay for any damages.  We had several cows killed by trains over the years, the railroad paid full market price for them.

Bob

[Guilford Guy]

So if you drive your car onto the tracks in front of a train and your hit, the railroad must pay in full for your car because its your property?!
Railroad's own the property they run on, thus if someone or something gets on the tracks, its owner is responsible...

[Redtail67]

Steam Engines and their tenders were matched in number when they were placed into service.

The number on the Engine was the only number used in identification of the train for operational purposes.

the number of thye tender was just that, a number just like on a boxcar to identify a specific tender. This number was recorded when work was performed on it as well as for locating it. As it was reported in a train consist.

It was possible, and happened no telling how many times, that an Engine would be operated without the matching numbered Tender. The tender mighht be bad order and work would have to be performed on it at the roundhouse. The Engine would be placed into service with another tender if available and later they would be placed back together.

Like someone stated before some roads numbered their tender and engine in numbers under the window of the unit and large nubers across the tender others had only number boards on the engines and large numbers on the tender. Then some had the numbers on the tender in other places and small in scale.

It was left up to the road how they numbered their tenders like someone said they just had them in a series similar to locomotives today.

However all locomotives were required by Rule Book  in effect to have the numbers on the front of every locomotive and roads adopted a number board on both sides on the front.

This code of rules, the first form of uniform regulation of the railroads was created by and enforced by the roads themselves. There was the Uniform Code (The CB&Q adopted it), The Standard Code (ATSF adopeted it), The Consolidated Code (The Missouri Pacific adopted it) and other Roads chose which one they wanted.

Each Code had certain Rules that the Railroad could not vary from other rules had variations that each road was free to select just what rule they wanted. The differences were in wording and interpretation.

The roads did this in an effort to prempt federal intervention however the rising death tols of workers as well as passengers brought in the government to ride shotgun on the roads and the implementation of the Rules governing their operations.

The governing body over all Roads rules exist today as well as the various Codes that thye roads use. The main difference is that the Federal Railroad Administration and various entities have a say as well as input in the formulation and interpretation of any rule or any Code of Rules in effect.

Redtail67

[Yampa Bob]

Thanks Red
So the governing body that sets the rules is the "Federal Railroad Administration". I asked that question earlier and got no response.

It was just a curiousity to me.  I could not imagine why there was such a lack of uniformity.   Like Colorado requires license plate front and rear.  Other states only require one.  But at least within a state there is uniformity. 

I don't like federal controls, but sometimes the anarchy becomes chaos. 

Bob