Each carrier in the US rail system has designated 'Reporting Marks' to identify the equipment it operates - both motive power and cars. Since the US rail network has gone from approximately 130 carriers down to the present day hand full of Class 1 carriers a lot of those 'fallen flag' carriers have been assumed by the carriers that currently exist. In the CSX family of fallen flag reporting marks there are B&O, C&O, WM, ACL, SAL, SBD, L&N, NYC among others. If one can come across a printed version of the Equipment Register, that contains data concerning all the cars each carrier owns and operates as well as the reporting marks that are applied to that equipment. The Equipment Register identifies which reporting marks are 'owned' by each carrier. In today's computerized world, the Equipment Register, like everything else as been computerized and is referred to as UMLER - Universal Machine Language Equipment Register. All carrier computer systems access UMLER when dealing with car data information for any number of different types of car data - it is ALL there.
This is mine from an office I worked at long ago, dating from the pre-Conrail era of April 1974. You're right, these are a gold mine of information.
Missed the two lead locomotives couldn't get my iPhone 13 ready fast enough. Behind one of my nieces house. Any idea what the one at about 11 seconds in the middle CSX locomotive it is? I know nothing about real life trains at all. I just assume they run locomotives like my ES44DC, or a SD70, it might be, but have no clue about this type of thing. And why two in the lead and one in the middle? It was a long train.
I knew I would get that wrong. Now, please explain the mixed freight & manifest thingy. I did say I know nothing about this stuff I'm trying to learn the basics at least. Might not sink into my tiny brain, but trying What exactly makes it a manifest train?
I associate the term "mixed freight" with a train from an earlier era, where a passenger car was carried on a freight train. This was once a fairly common sight on branch lines. A manifest is a freight with a mixture of freight car types, as opposed to a stack train or unit train where all car types are the same.
"Mixed" used to be applied to a train which handled both freight and passengers all in one. The "mixed freight" has surfaced in recent years from railfans who are a younger generation and don't know the proper terminology. A manifest is a train which handles multiple commodities. Here is a snip from old example of some Union Pacific Manifests:
Today's railroading has basically evolved into four types of train. 1. Intermodal - a train consisting of shipping containers and/or over the road trailers 2. Autorack - trains consisting of automobile carrying cars - both loaded and empty 3. Manifest - trains consisting of all manner of car types - box cars, gondolas, flat cars, tank cars, hopper cars, covered hopper cars etc. 4. Bulk Commodity - trains hauling a single commodity - Ore Trains, Coal Trains, Oil Trains, Grain Trains, Stone Trains and in many cases the same cars returning empty to their loading location. In the normal operation of a Class 1 railroad - Intermodal, Autorack and Manifest trains are all operated on schedules by the carriers. Bulk Commodity trains operate on a irregular basis - when the commodity is ready to be moved, the carrier(s) will move the train from origin to destination and after it has been emptied the cars get returned to the origin for another trip. The cars used in Bulk Commodity trains will be those necessary to haul the specific commodity - Open Top Hoppers or high side 'gondolas' for coal, stone, ore etc. - Covered Hoppers for grains and other commodities the need to be kept dry during transportation - Tank Cars for liquid commodities such as oil and any number of other liquid commodities
BNSF FAN can answer, but I'll set the stage with an overhead map with former railroads identified. The location is Devine Junction and a picture will save him a lot of typing. The entire interlocking was constructed in the late 1980s, vastly changing Columbia, SC's railroad landscape.
Hardcoaler's pic sums it up well. The train is taking the ACL<>SAL connection and will soon be entering the CSX yard at Cayce SC.
You found a good spot BNSF FAN, probably the best in Columbia. A train watcher there will miss NS's Charlotte trains and CSX trains off the SAL/CN&L are on the perimeter and somewhat obscured by trees, but otherwise it's very good, and safe too with the U. of S.C.'s Greek Village nearby with lots of students walking past.
A worn out looking former Chessie GP30 doing some switching - Chattanooga TN December 1992 - Hard to believe that was 30 years ago
Former Seaboard System U18B (a Baby Boat) pulling a local under the Wilder Street bridge - Chattanooga TN Oct. 1990
I used to have several of these. Loaned some out to "friends" who never bothered to bring them back again. One fellow even sold the copy I had loaned to him. Later he wanted to borrow something else from me and when I declined, he quit communicating with me. Really? Anyhow, I only have one left thanks to my being generous.
Arrrgh! Books are like tools and I very rarely loan either. The last time I loaned a hand tool, it wasn't returned and when I asked about it, it couldn't be found. The borrower admitted that the fault was his. I reminded him that he lost an expensive, high quality tool and that a Harbor Freight replacement would not be acceptable. He made good on it. I have a friend who's a skilled woodworker and he told me a story about a neighbor who phoned him to ask if he had a router. When my friend asked the neighbor what he had in mind, the neighbor responded that he "wanted to router something out". With that, my friend wisely said no.
Just got to view these CSX 'hockey sticks,' thanks! I have always liked the paint scheme, putting it high up on the favorite chart!