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B&M Freight Cars Home

Equipment Registers

Index

• Some General Notes
• General Chronology (not specific to B&M)
• Weights
• MY Abbreviations for railroads (NOT necessarily the same as their reporting marks)
• B&M Specific Chronology
• B&M System Map Chronology
• Column/Dimensional Data Headings Chronology (based on B&M RR)
• Standard Symbols
• B&M ORER Pages Available at the B&MRRHS Archives
• Other Railroad ("B&M Related") ORER Pages Available at Archives
• Where you can find/access ORERs
• Revision History of this page

General Notes on their Origin

Andreas, A.T. "History of Chicago: From 1857 until the fire of 1871" 1885.

"FRANK M. LUCE, general car accountant of the Chicago & North-Western Railway, is a gentleman whose proficiency in the details of those duties, and ability in their exercise, is not only recognized by the management of the road in his appointment and maintenance in his position, but is also well-known to railroad men throughout the United States. He is the author of Luce's System of Car Accounts, and of Luce's Book of Equipment Lists which are indispensable for car accountants on all the principle lines in the United States and Canada, and which have produced order out of the chaos to which such accounts were heretofore subject. The system was invented by Mr. Luce in 1863, and has grown into such great appreciation that it is now (1884) used by one hundred and eighty-two railroads and fast freight lines, and has received from them the highest eulogiums. He was born in Marion, Plymouth Co., Mass., in 1846, the son of Elisha C. and Lucretia (Clark) Luce. He first entered the railroad business in 1863, as an employee of the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad company, and was speedily made car-mileage clerk, which position he retained until 1866, when he became car accountant of the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad. He remained with that road until 1871, when he was made general car accountant for the Chicago & North-Western."

Also note the copied section of the May 11, 1877 "The Railroad Gazette" (unknown page number) (referenced in above groups.io discussion)

Brief Chronology of the Equipment Registers (in general)

(note changes in the columns used are listed in a separate table, see below)
Also note many changes are in the B&M table (below) as I am unsure if the change (and date thereof) were just when the B&M listings changed, or when all railroads' listings changed

Year/Month	Description
1884	There is a much rumored "Trial Edition" published in 1884 Possibly "Luce's System of Car Accounts", and/or "Luce's Book of Equipment Lists" Also see this discussion
1885-06	First published as "Sechrist's Hand-Book and Railway Equipment and Mileage Guide" From 1885 thru May, 1887, the issues did not have "Volume/Number" designations, however, they were "counted" when "Volume/Number" started being used Published monthly from this point until 1932 Note the June issue was "Number 1" for each volume
1887-06	(Vol. III No. 1) Title changed to "The Official Railway Equipment Guide"
1897-01	Title changed to "The Official Railway Equipment Register"
1930-10	(at least on the B&M) Fractions removed from dimension (Inside dimensions rounded down, outside dimensions rounded up)
1932-07	(Vol. XLVII, No. 2) Published Bi-Monthly (every other month) from this point What this means is that there was a "full" register in the July issue (several hundred pages worth). Then every other month until the next July there were "update" issues, only listing the CHANGES from the July issue (indexed on page numbers of the previous July issue) IIRC there is more than one section of "changes" - one for the cars themselves, one for (?)agents, interchange points, etc(?) (and possibly others)
1933-07	(Vol. XLIX No. 1) With this issue, July starts being the "Number 1" issue in each volume
1937-07	(Vol. LIII No. 1) Published quarterly from this point Published July, October, January and April with 2 exceptions that I know of (1973-11 and 1983-05)
1973-11	(Vol. 89 No 2.) Format changes drastically with this issue, so I'm guessing that is why it was "late" Marks the transition from Roman numeral volume numbers, to arabic numbers Also font used for the listings changed from "Serif" ("Roman") style to "sans-serif" ("gothic") style
1983-05	I'm not sure what cause this one to be "late"
1998-01	(Vol. 113 No. 3) pages changed from "just a number" to "prefix + number" - railroad pages are "RR-[number]" (e.g. "RR-47"), and private cars are "PC-[number]" (e.g. "PC-115")
2012	The B&M (my interest) was dropped in 2012, so there may be changes after this date that I am unaware of

Weights

Initially, to standardize (If I understand correctly) the MCB (later ARA, then AAR) developed a standard set of "solid" journal sizes that corresponded to (for a 4 axle car) certain nominal capacities after subtracting the weight of the car itself.

Again, if I understand correctly, these same "nominal" sizes were carried over to roller-bearing equipped axles/journals sizes and capacities.

From 1953-01 ORER (p826), from AAR (MCB) Rule 86
Capacity of car with 4 axles

Axle Letter	Journal Size	Total Weight on Rails	Nominal Capacity (lbs)
A	3¾ x 7	66,000	40,000
B	4¼ x 8	103,000	60,000
C	5 x 9	136,000	80,000
D	5½ x 10	169,000	100,000
E	6 x 11	210,000	140,000
F	6½ x 12	251,000	200,000

Hence this led to "50 ton", "70 Ton", etc. car capacities

Note some cars load limit was not governed by the journals - they would have a star painted next to the Load Limit painted on the car side

[per Tim Gilbert] Prior to 1925 [from when?], the maximum load that could be added to a car was 110% of of the nominal capacity
Starting in 1925, the load limit was calculated for each car, based on that car's weight, and was ["total weight on rails" - "weight of car"] This tended to increase the load that could be carried.

In August 1963 the "Total Weight on rails" (GRL) was changed (increased about 5%)

Circa (when?) the wheel diameters and axle spacing were also standardized for each journal size

Other data related to Journal Size

Axle Letter	GRL	Nominal Capacity	Pre-1925 load limit	Circa 1963 new GRL	Circa 1963 new Nominal Capy	Circa 1995 new GRL	Minimum Wheel Dia	Axle Spacing
A	66,000	40,000	44,000	?	?	?	33"
B	103,000	60,000	66,000	103,000 (no change)	?	?	33"
C	136,000	80,000	88,000	142,000	88,000	?	33"
D	169,000	100,000	110,000	177,000	110,000	?	33"
E	210,000	140,000	154,000	220,000	154,000	?	33"	5' - 8"
F	251,000	200,000	220,000	263,000	200,000	286,000	36"
? (7 x 12)	N/A	N/A	N/A	315,000	250,000	?	38"

Note some cars with clearance issues (auto-racks, depressed center flat cars) might have smaller wheels than called for by the above table

If 6"x11" axles were used with 28" diameter wheels instead of 33", the GRL was reduced to 179,200 lbs. (later increased to 195,000 lbs. with specific 28" wheel designs) to keep wheel stresses within acceptable limits. (Dick Dawson)

7x12 journal size introduced/standardized after 1963

Much of the "newer than 1953" data above from posts in https://groups.io/g/MFCL discussion forums

Railroad Name Abbreviations used below

Note I am ignoring "small" differences ("Railway" vs. "Railroad", etc.)

Abbreviation	"Full" Name
B&M	Boston & Maine
East	Eastern
Fitch	Fitchburg
P&R	Portland & Rochester
C&M	Concord & Montreal
ConnR	Connecticut River
W&J	Whitefield & Jefferson
Chesh	Cheshire
NoNH	Northern (NH)
Conc	Concord
B&L	Boston & Lowell
BC&M	Boston, Concord & Montreal
Pass	Passumpsic
BHT&W	Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western
T&B	Troy & Boston
BB&G	Boston, Barre & Gardner
WN&R	Worcester, Nashua & Rochester
M&L	Manchester & Lawrence
StJ&LC	St Johnsbury & Lake Champlain
Barre	the various Barre (Vt) railroads (Barre, Barre & Chelsea, etc.)
M&WR	Montpelier & Wells River
PT	Portland Terminal
Ash	Ashuelot (for the purposes of ORER data, ALWAYS listed under Conn River or B&M, as appropriate for the date)
VV	Vermont Valley (for the purposes of ORER data, ALWAYS listed under Conn River or B&M, as appropriate for the date)
SC	Sullivan County (for the purposes of ORER data, ALWAYS listed under Conn River or B&M, as appropriate for the date)
C&C	Concord & Claremont
ST	Springfield Terminal
YH&B	York Harbor & Beach RR

B&M Specific Equipment Registers Chronology

Some nomenclature to make the table below a bit smaller

In [railroad]

Has a separate table in the "other" railroad's listing

See [railroad]

Cars are listed in the "other" railroad's main car list table (not a separate table, and no notation they are being renumbered)

To [railroad]

Cars are listed in the "other" railroad's list, with notation they are being renumbered into the other railroad's "standard" number series

[gone]

data no longer listed anywhere I can find (excludes "Line" cars)

Year/Month	Description
1885-06	In the "first" ORER, the following railroads (B&M and predecessors, not including "Line" car listings) are listed separately in the register: Boston & Lowell (includes Concord & Claremont; Northern RR of New Hampshire; Boston, Concord & Montreal; Pemigewassett Valley) Boston & Maine (includes Eastern RR as "Eastern Division") Boston, Barre, & Gardner Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western Cheshire Concord (includes Manchester & Lawrence) Connecticut River (includes Ashuelot; Sullivan County; and Vermont Valley) Fitchburg Passumpsic St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain ("sort of" a predecessor :-) Troy & Boston Worcester, Nashua, & Rochester.
1885-07	BB&G to Fitchburg ("Worcester Division")
1886-08	StJ&LC in B&L ("Vermont Division")
1886-06	WN&R in B&M
1887-04	W&J in B&L
1887-06	T&B still separate listing, but "Owned & Operated by Fitchburg"
1887-07	Passumpsic in B&L ("Passumpsic Division") StJ&LC listed in B&L, but as railroad (no longer "Vermont Division")
1887-08	BHT&W still separate listing, but "Owned & Operated by Fitchburg" Northern(NH) no longer in B&L (went to ?)
1887-10	T&B in Fitchburg BHT&W in Fitchburg Northern(NH) in separate listing M&L in B&M (was Concord)
1888-10	B&L to "B&M Lowell System"
1889-06	First issue indicating Fitchburg cars series equipped with air brakes (First listing in any B&M predecessor)
1889-07	BC&M to separate listing (was in B&L)
1889-11	C&M added BC&M in C&M Concord in C&M
1890-04	"B&M Lowell System" listings merged into main B&M listing B&L in B&M (" Division") Passumpsic in B&M ("Passumpsic Division") W&J in B&M, but as railroad (not a Division) StJ&LC listed in B&M, but as railroad (not a Division)
1890-08	Northern(NH) in B&M StJ&LC to separate listing W&J to ?
1890-09	W&J in C&M
1890-12	Cheshire see Fitchburg
1891-11	First explicit indication how cars are marked: "Boston & Maine R.R."
1892-07	Separate table for Eastern; WN&R removed from B&M (cars merged into main listing) "Cars are marked 'B. & M.' " (also other railroads)
1893-04	B&M - "New series" for cars number first listed Conn River to B&M
1894-05	Separate table for NNH, M&L, Pass. removed from B&M (cars merged into main listing)
1894-06	Separate tables for all other railroads and "old" car numbers removed, all that remains are "new" B&M car series
1895-07	W&J table in C&M gone
1895-08	C&M in B&M
1896-06	Separate tables for T&B, BB&G (Worcester Div) removed from Fitchburg (cars merged into Fitchburg numbers)
1897-08	Separate table for C&M removed from B&M
1897-08	StJ&LC in B&M
1898-02	Separate table for Cheshire removed from Fitchburg
1898	Entries started including date at end of each listing [speculating: date is last time data was updated?] B&M: March Fitchburg: April P&R: June
1899-02	StJ&LC to Separate table
1899-06	Separate table for BHT&W removed from Fitchburg
1900-01	P&R to B&M (see note in listing))
1900-12	P&R note gone
1901-08	Fitchburg in B&M
1902-04	First issue with "*" indicating B&M cars series equipped with air brakes
1903-04	Notation of how cars are marked: "Boston & Maine" "part of them also marked 'Hoosac Tunnel Route'"
1904-06	"StJ&LC equipment has been purchased by B&M"
1905-08	Fitchburg gone
1906-03	Explicit note on car marking removed
1909-06	Last issue with "*" indicating cars equipped with air brakes I am assuming after this point all cars listed have air brakes?
1914-02	"Fractional" part of linear dimensions start to disappear
1914-10	End of "MOW" cars (Snowplows, etc.) being listed in main listing Start of "Miscellaneous Equipment" section (MOW, Caboose, Cinder, 4-wheel dumps / log trucks, etc.)
1914-11	MCB Designations first listed (column added 1912-11, but had no data)
1915-03	Reporting marks - "B & M"
1915-10	Reporting marks - "B & M" - Boston & Maine RR "S C" - Sullivan County RR "V V" - Vermont Valley RR
1917-10	"Space" reserved for system map
1917-12	First system map variant published
1918-04	"Addition"/"Increase"/"Reduction" symbols started being used
1918-11	Reporting marks - Added: "B & C" - Barre & Chelsea RR "M & W R" - Montpelier & Wells River RR
1922-06	Reporting marks - Added: "S J & L" - St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain RR
1922-12	Refrigerator cars moved to separate table
1925-02	Reporting marks - removed "S J & L" - St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain RR (other 5 remain)
1925-03	First notes indicating which specific cars have steel ends Note due to the quantities, and other info, I believe this is the first time they were *listed* Conversions started "much[?] earlier"
1925-05	Notes about Mogul ends start (actually, "Cars not equipped with steel or Mogul ends", i.e. original ends)
1926-02	Reporting marks - removed: "B & C" - Barre & Chelsea RR "M & W R" - Montpelier & Wells River RR (B&M, SC, VV remain)
1926-04	System map no longer published
1927-07	Reporting marks - Added: "M T C" - Mystic Terminal Co Also added separate lines for cars assigned to MTC (not all series split at this time, however) NOTE: all data in MTC lines (including number series) identical to B&M line for same cars, except "Number of Cars" (and B&M series "Number of Cars" adjusted down as appropriate)
1929-04	Reporting marks - removed: "S C" - Sullivan County RR "V V" - Vermont Valley RR (B&M, MTC remain)
1930-10	Fractions removed from dimension (Inside dimensions rounded down, outside dimensions rounded down[oops])
1930-11	Fractions removed from dimension (Inside dimensions rounded down, outside dimensions rounded up)
1933-07	MTC car series/counts merged back into B&M series (i.e. no separate listing of MTC car counts)
1935-07	First issue without "wood underframe" cars
1936-07	End of "Miscellaneous Equipment" section
1938-04	Reporting marks to "BM" (although B & M still listed on another line) (MTC remain as-is)
1939-07	End of passenger cars being listed
1973-11	Added "ACI Nos"/ Railway accounting numbers (BM = "0 069", MTC = "0 467")
1974-10	First appearance of fork truck axle load data ("25K", "50K", "60K", etc.) in description column (typically only boxcars)
1979-04	First "C" in "Description" column (indicating "Plate C" clearances) in B&M listing (5400 series covered hoppers)
1989-07	Hoppers (both open and covered) lose interior dimensions
1993-01	Reporting marks - removed: "M T C" - Mystic Terminal Co (BM, B&M remain)
2011-04	Reporting marks - removed: "B & M" - Boston & Maine RR (BM remains)
2012-04	BM registration removed from the ORER

B&M System Map Chronology

Year/Month	Description
1917-12	First Map Shows StJ&LC RR, YH&B RR in "Bold" Shows M&WR, Barre (VT) RRs not "Bold" Shows the Hampden Railroad in bold (but dashed)
1918-12	M&WR, Barre (VT) RRs changed to "Bold"
1919-11	Line from Nashua-N. Acton-Concord Jct. (MA) now shown separate from NYNH&H line from "N. Acton" (no longer labelled) to Concord Jct.
1924-11	Suncook Valley RR changed to "not bold" (Suncook to Center Barnstead, NH) Branch to Camp Ellis removed (Old Orchard to Camp Ellis, ME)
1925-02	StJ&LC RR changed to "not bold"
1925-03	"Profile House" branch removed (Bethlehem Jct to Profile House, NH) Jefferson branch removed (Cherry Mt. to Jefferson, NH)
1925-08	Line from Nashua-N. Acton-Concord Jct. (MA) removed
1925-12	Hampden Railroad removed
1926-04	Map removed

Column/Dimensional Data Headings Chronology

Note these are based on the B&M listings, other railroads may have different dates (or whatever).
Squares with yellow background indicate changes from previous layout

Starting with the First (1885-06) issue to (for B&M) 1892-06
Note most data were NOT filled in, or if any data was supplied, it was only length and/or capacity Per the "notices" page in 6/1885 issue, all dimensions are "outside" dimensions, unless specified as "Inside"
Kind of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions			Capacity	No.
		Length	Width	Height
Starting with 1892-07 issue
"dimensions" removed in "Freight Equipment" section, leaving just 3 columns (note "Leased" and "Line" car tables, and other tables, retained above 7 columns)
Kind of Cars	Numbers	[nothing listed]				No.
Starting with 1893-04 issue
start of listing the "New" cars series a few of the "New" car series (8 of 32 series, but note the "32" includes caboose, MOW cars, etc.) have a length as part of the series description "New" series just car desriptions and number range.
Starting with 1893-11 issue
The "New" cars series starts to include car counts, so columns are;
Kind of Cars	Numbers	[nothing listed]				No.
Starting with 1894-06 issue
the "Old" car series are no longer listed.
By 1901-01, many more (40 of 55 series) have length and/or capacity as part of the series description
Starting with 1903-04 issue
returns to the first table (7 columns) of data
Kind of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions			Capacity	No.
		Length	Width	Height

changing to new HTML table as there are so many changes

"Regular" cars (includes Reefers until 1922-12)

Starting with the 1910-06 issue
Kind of Cars				Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		No.
					Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width at Eaves or Platform		Height from rail				Side		End
											To Eaves		To top of platform or runn'g board	To overall	Width	Height	Width	Height	Cubic Feet	Pounds
Starting with the 1912-11 issue
Kind of Cars				Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		No.
M.C.B. Designation		Class			Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width at Eaves or Platform		Height from rail				Side		End
											To Eaves		To top of platform or runn'g board	To overall	Width	Height	Width	Height	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds or Gallons
Starting 1926-06
M.C.B. Designation		Markings And Kind Of Cars		Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		Number of Cars
					Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side		End
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	To Top of Running Board	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds or Gallons
Starting 1932-06
Item Number	M.C.B. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars		Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		Number of Cars
					Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side		End
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	To Top of Running Board	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds or Gallons
Starting 1937-10
Item Number	A.A.R. Mech. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars		Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		Number of Cars
					Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side		End
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	To Top of Running Board	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds or Gallons
Starting 1965-01 the definition of "Outside Length" changed Prior to this point (unknown if it started in 1885 or later) it was "between coupler striking castings" As of this date (and later) it is "between pulling faces of couplers in normal positions" NOTE: the actual dimensions listed for many series were not changed to reflect this definition change until YEARS (10 plus) later.
Starting 1966-10
Item Number	A.A.R. Mech. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars	A.A.R. Car Type Code	Numbers	Dimensions														Capacity		Number of Cars
					Inside			Outside							Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side		End
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	[removed]	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds or Gallons

changing to new HTML table as there are so many changes

"Regular" cars (continued)

Starting 1973-11
Line No.	A.A.R. Mech. Desig.	Description	A.A.R. Car Type Code	Numbers	Dimensions											Capacity		No. of Cars
					Inside			Outside						Doors [end door data removed]
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail			Side
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	Pounds (000)
Starting 2000-07
Line No.	A.A.R. Mech. Desig.	Description	A.A.R. Car Type Code	Numbers	Dimensions											Capacity		No. of Cars
					Inside			Outside						Doors
					Length	Width	Height	Length	Width		Height from rail			Side
									At Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves or Top of Sides or Platform	To Extreme Height	Width of Open'g	Height of Open'g	Cubic Feet Level Full	GRL Lbs. (000)
As of 2012-01 (the last B&M listing, so the last I have data for) there were no further column changes Unknown if there have been changes since then.

Reefers - starting 1922-12

Starting with the 1922-12 issue
M.C.B. Designation		Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Cap'y of Ice Tanks					Capac'y of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length over end sill	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Measure of Capacity		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice		Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet		Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1924-02
M.C.B. Designation		Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Cap'y of Ice Tanks					Capac'y of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Measure of Capacity		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice		Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet		Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1924-04
M.C.B. Designation		Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Cap'y of Ice Tanks					Capac'y of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Measure of Capacity		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice		Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet	Depth	Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1925-04
M.C.B. Designation		Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Capacity of Ice Tanks					Capacity of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Measure of Capacity		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice		Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet	Depth	Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1932-06
Item Number	M.C.B. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Capacity of Ice Tanks					Capacity of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Measure of Capacity		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice		Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet	Depth	Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1933-07
Item Number	M.C.B. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Capacity of Ice Tanks					Capacity of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Capacity Measure		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice	Total Capacity for Coarse Ice	Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet	Depth	Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Starting 1937-10
Item Number	A.A.R. Mech. Desig- nation	Markings And Kind Of Cars	Numbers	Dimensions													Capacity								Number of Cars
				Inside				Outside							Doors		Capacity of Ice Tanks					Capacity of car
				Length		Width, Inside	Height, Inside	Length	Width		Height from rail				Side Doors		Pounds			Capacity Measure		Cubic Feet Level Full		Pounds
				Between ice tanks- Bulkheads in place	Between Linings Clear (Bulkheads collapsed)				Width at Eaves	Extreme Width	To Extreme Width	To Eaves	To top of running board	To Extreme Height	Width	Height	Total Capacity for Crushed Ice	Total Capacity for Coarse Ice	Total Capacity for Chunk Ice	Cubic Feet	Depth	Between Ice Boxes- Bulkheads in place	Clear Capacity (Bulkheads Collapsed)
Last B&M Refrigerator cars listed 1951-07 - unknown if there were changes in columns after that. Only data point I have is 1953-01, where PFE listing still has the same columns

Standard Symbols

Note: Initially, I assumed (INCORRECTLY) that the "Addition"/"Increase"/"Reduction" only applied to the numbers of cars.
Later I realized it also applies to the dimensional data
Also note "Reduction" was typically NOT applied for normal "attrition" reductions in car counts, but rather when large numbers of cars were scrapped or converted to another car series.

These symbols first appeared 1918-04 in B&M data

Indication	1918-04 thru 1928-09	1928-10 thru 1952-04	1952-07 thru 1973-07
Addition	★	▲	★
Increase	●	◆	◆
Reduction	▲	[anyone know a Unicode character for this symbol?]

From 1902-04 thru 1909-06 (at least on B&M) "*" (at the end of the "Kind of Cars" column) indicates this series is equipped with Air Brakes

From 1973-11 thru 1981-10: "■" in "Description" column = "series of cars in which exceptions occur"
[The exceptions were typically listed in then next row(s)]

Starting in 1973-11, they just add a "▸" (although "compressed" left-to-right) to the left of the [car] "Numbers" column to indicate "Change from previous issue"
(Similar to Unicode 🞂 "Black Right-Pointing Isosceles Right Triangle" - which doesn't render in my browser)

In 1992-07, that changed to a
(Similar to Unicode 🠾 "Rightwards compressed arrow" - which doesn't render in my browser)

In "newer" registers (first use on B&M listings 1992-10?) a "J" indicates something to the effect of "the data supplied does not meet UMLER specifications" (in B&M data I mostly see this in the "Capacity" columns)

At least in my Jan 1953 issue (I don't know how long it was used before/after that date), in the alphabetic lists of private owner reporting marks (at back of issue) they uses a "Maltese Cross" (✠) to indicate that the cars that used that reporting mark are NOT listed in the ORER

B&M ORER Pages Available at the B&MRRHS Archives

Note I list the StJ&LC here (in addition to below), because sometimes it was actually listed inside the other railroad's (e.g. B&L, B&M) listing

Note each PAGE is (typically) a .JPG that is 3-4 MB in size. The original ORER pages indicate how many are available for a giver railroad/date. Be careful what you ask for :-)

• B&M (and predecessor railroads) ORER pages available for 1884 - 1890
• B&M (and predecessor railroads) ORER pages available for 1891 - 2012

Other Railroad ORER Pages Available at Archives

Due to "Collateral Data" (kind-of like collateral damage, only much nicer) sometimes other railroads' data was on the same page (or nearby pages) and occasionally I even captured an image of it ;-)
Note this list does NOT cover predecessor railroads (Fitchburg, etc.) - they are covered above

Railroad	Year/Month (issues) where it is available in the data I assembled
StJ&LC	1885-08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (in B&L) 1886-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (in B&L) 1887-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (in B&L) 1888-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (in B&L / B&M Lowell System) 1889-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (in B&M Lowell System) 1890-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07(in B&M Lowell System), -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 (separate listing) 1891-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1892-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1893-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1894-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1895-01, -02, -03, -05, -06, -08, -11, -12 1896-01, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1897-07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1898-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1899-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1901-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1902-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1903-01, -02, -03, -04, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1904-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1905-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1906-01, -02, 1907-01 1907-01 1908-02 1930-02, -03, -04, -05 1931-01, -03, -06 1932-01, -04, -07 1935-07 1936-07 1937-07, -10 1938-07 1941-04 1944-01 1947-01 1960-01
Barre	1889-07 1890-01 1891-01 1892-01 1893-01 1894-01 1895-01 1896-02 1897-07 1898-01 1899-01 1901-01 1902-01 1903-01 1904-01 1905-01 1906-01 1907-01 1908-02 1909-01 1911-03 1912-09 1913-08 1914-04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1915-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1916-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1917-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09 1918-03, -07, -09, -10, -11, -12 From 1918-11 to 1926-01, Barre (B&C) cars were included in the B&M listing 1932-07 1935-07 1936-07 1937-05, -07, -10 1938-01, -07 1940-10 1941-04 1942-04 1944-01 1947-01 1960-01
M&WR	1886-10, -11, -12 1887-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07 1889-01 1890-01 1891-01 1892-01 1893-01 1894-01 1895-01 1896-02 1897-07 1898-01 1899-01 1901-01 1902-01 1903-01 1904-01 1905-01 1906-01 1907-01 1908-02 1909-01 1911-03 1912-09, -10 1913-06 1914-01, -03 1917-10, -11, -12 1918-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10 From 1918-11 to 1926-01, M&WR cars were included in the B&M listing 1932-07 1935-07 1936-07 1937-07, -10 1938-01, -07 1940-10 1941-04 1942-04 1944-01 1960-01
PT	1920-03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1921-02, -03, -04, -07, -08, -10, -11 1922-01, -02, -04, -05, -06, -08, -09, -10, -12 1923-01, -02, -03, -05, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1924-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -09, -10 1925-01, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1926-01, -02, -03 1931-01, -03, -06 1932-01, -04 1935-07 1936-07 1937-07, -10 1938-07 1941-04 1944-01 1947-01 1957-04, -07 1958-10 1960-04, -10
ST	1918-09
N&CV Line	1889-08, -09, -10, -11, -12 1890-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -07, -08, -09, -10, -11 1891-02 1892-12

Where you can find ORERs

If, like me, you want "every" ORER entry for your favorite railroad, here are some places you can start with:

Online (free, no travel required)

• Google Books

  Quite a few before 1918 are available, but they are:

  1. Huge PDFs if you download them (200MB to over 500MB) and I would suggest downloading them for speed)
     But note each PDF has 2 or 3 issues of the register
  2. Scanning quality is a bit "spotty" (some pages are "perfect", some are partly/wholly illegible)
  3. Last "free" issues are 1917, so if you want something later, I don't know how to access them.

  But they are "complete" issues (all railroads, private car lines, index, supplemental pages, etc.)

• Hathi Trust

  I believe one issue is available for "free", others may (or may not) be available if you pay (or access through participating institutions)

Available for purchase

• Westerfield

  Has a bunch covering all railroads:

  1885-06
  1888-08
  1892-08
  1897-08
  1900-06
  1905-06
  1911-12
  1915-01
  1919-10
  1925-05
  1930-12
  1935-07
  1940-01
  1945-01
  1950-07
  1955-01
  1959-01
  1965-01

  
  and for the Penna RR, he has compilations of several years: "1888-1926"; "1927-1950"; and "1951-1968"

• NMRA reprints (1953, 1943)

  These are sold out on the NMRA store, but I believe they can be found on-line

• Original ORERs

  Again, occasionally available at train shows and on-line auctions.

Libraries

• Barriger Collection, St. Louis Mercantile Library (University of Missouri at St. Louis)

  If I had it to do over again, I would have started here. Hotels in the area are not outrageously expensive, and free parking can be had at the hotels and the library.
  There is even a light-rail line with a station stop at the UMSL campus (along old Wabash RR right of way) if you are interested...

  Has almost every register up to and including the "current" one. They are only missing (note I didn't look at everything after 1947, so I am assuming there are no missing registers after that...):

  • 1885 - They are missing "all" (Jun. - Dec.)
    NOTE: there were none published Jan. - May
  • 1897 - They are missing the first half of the year (Jan. - Jun.)
  • 1900 - They are missing "all" (Jan. - Dec.)

  In addition, they are on open stacks (just walk up and get the ones you want) so you can proceed as fast as you want (no "only 10 or 15 items at a time, and we only pull once or twice a day" limits)

• Library of Congress

  Has 1948 - current, all as printed copies. Go to their web site to understand limits (how many they will pull at a time), getting Reader ID card, etc. If you live in DC area and can commute via the Metro / train / bus, probably not a bad option (or get a hotel in walking distance of one of the "far out" metro line stops) When I was there, there were about 30 issues that were just "not available" (they could not give me a reason) Pull requests can (and should) be submitted ahead of time (on the web)

• New York [City] Public Library

  Has 1895-04(?) to at least 2011 (possibly to current issue?)
  1895 thru 1960(?) have been microfilmed, after that they are the original printed copies Go to their web site to understand limits (how many they will pull at a time), getting library card, etc. Note these items are stored off-site, so in my experience getting more than 1 pull a day was hard to do - but note once you pick up the current "pull", you can immediately submit another "pull" request. Also note for the microfilmed issues, there are typically several ORER issues on one roll of microfilm, and each roll counts as one "pull" If you live in NYC area and can commute via train/subway, probably not a bad option, but visiting can be expensive (Hotel + car parking can easily run $250/day) Pull requests can (and should) be submitted ahead of time (on the web) Must(?) be viewed at the "Stephen A. Schwarzman Building" (the "flagship" building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street). Although THEY (NYPL) suggested I do an "inter-library loan" (ILL) request to get ones I missed, once I asked the local library to do so, it was "oh, those aren't available for ILL" [grrr....]

• Local libraries in in the nearest "major" city near you

  Buffalo's "main" library had about a dozen, I would assume other large libraries have a few. If they do, see if they will "ILL" them out to a branch near you.

• Universities - Stanford, others

  It looks like most of the Google Books ORERs were in the Stanford library, AND they have all the ones that the Barriger collection is missing.
  (although it looks like Stanford is missing 1917-12 thru 1950-01 !?!?)
  I feel it would be safe to assume some other Colleges and Universities would have a few, if not a lot. I would guess community colleges do not :-) And colleges that were founded after your period of interest probably won't be very helpful ;-)

• Cal State Railroad Museum Library

  Supposedly they have a lot (some from the ex-NMRA library). But every time I emailed them, they have been "less than enthusiastic" about helping me :-(

• Various Railroad related historical societies / archives / museums

  I would guess at least some of them (IRM?, Nat'l Museum of Transport in St. Louis?, Steamtown?, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, etc.) have one or more issues in their collections.

Revision History