July Picture Worth A Few Words

Here is another example of something you don't see much of anymore. I don't know that much about scale test cars but some are still in use on other roads. This one sits in Waterville, ME, and when the trains aren't blocking one's view of the yard, you can see it among the other odds and ends.

This particular rig is apparently a faded green. So faded that without the "MEC" by the upper left rungs, it might be mistaken for a faded B&M blue or black.

The thing that gets me is how common it used to be to see these. Some of the old models I've seen elsewhere had air lines for the brake system, but no brakes themselves. Brake shoes wore down and affected accuracy. Looking carefully at this one, I see brake shoes in the center. Maybe these are the "parking brakes". Funny, but I don't see any hoses. There could be provision for them but none are present. Of course I'm thinking this car blows all my once "taken for fact" knowledge about scale cars. That's why it is here.

I believe you'll find that the reason these aren't so common is just the changing environment for railroading. There is far less local traffic now than there used to be. It wasn't that unusual 30-40 years ago for any town with a few rail customers in the vicinity to have a depot, switcher and a small yard. Included in the yard was usually a small scale track to weigh newly loaded cars. The local crew would weigh the car so the station clerk or agent could prepare shipping documents and send a bill.

I've witnessed this weighing process in Ft. Collins, CO on the Colorado & Southern. One of the local SD9's would push the car onto the gantlet track that went over the scale and the depot operator would move the weights around until they balanced and write down the numbers. They would then repeat the process for the next pair of axles. Inside the scale shack was a button that sent a signal - a klaxon sound that resembled something out of a Strategic Air Command alert - that could be heard above the diesel locomotive so the engineer knew the operator was ready for the next truck.

This process was repeated in hundreds of small yards across the country that likely have no yard, no station or even no rails now. That equals a lot less need. I suspect that weighing is more centrally located now and since deregulation, may be a tad less important to some bills. I know crews still need to know what they are hauling, so weight is still important to know. The labor intensity of it is likely quite streamlined and computerized now. Conrail had a scale in PA that weighed whole coal trains as the train passed over the mainline scale track in Denholm. I don't know if the train even had to stop at all as it went through town. I know that some hump yards weigh cars too as they pass the tower. Larger industries might record their own weight. No special moves just to get weight. Technology has probably made these cars totally obsolete except for the rare few old scales left. After all, if a highway patrol pickup truck with some portable scales can weigh tractor-trailors, railroads probably have their own tricks too.

BC

BC