NEW YORK CENTRAL FREIGHT CAR ROSTER

This is a summary of NYC freight cars and corresponding HO scale models ( for those in other scales, this list can be used as a cross reference to help identify models that may be close to NYC prototype. A recent trend in the model railroad business is for different companies to release the same or similar car in different scales). Cars are listed in NYC's lot # order and starts at Lot 200-B which was the first lot using this numbering series. Since cars built for the various components of the NYC prior to the introduction of the 'lot #' reference are difficult to locate photos, only those cars still listed in the 1924 equipment book have been included in this listing.

Renumberings from CI&S, LS&MS and NYC&HR occurred starting around 1915 and completed around 1925/1926. Renumberings from CCC&STL, NOR, MCRR occurred starting in 1936. Renumberings did not happen overnight and in some cases, a few cars remained with their original reporting marks until retirement many years later. Last CCC&STL, NOR and MCRR lettered cars remained on the roster until the early 1950's.

Service life dates are based on Equipment Register listings and only reflect dates cars carried NYC ( or NYC subsidiary ) reporting marks and DO NOT take into account later Penn Central and/or Conrail renumberings as some cars are still in service today with PC, CR, CSX and NS reporting marks. Also, information from equipment registers should not be considered 100% accurate and cars may have actually been removed from service long before they are removed from ( or added to ) the listings. Frequently, a couple cars remained listed for quite sometime after the rest of the fleet had been retired, leaving one to believe that either they just happened to be stragglers or were late in being removed from the equipment listings.

Though I would like to believe this information is 100% correct, it is only as good as the original information from NYC equipment books, ORERs and other paper sources. MDT roster information is primarily based on a 1964 MDT equipment roster. Early MDT information is solely based on equipment registers. I would consider the MDT information to be far less accurate than the NYC information. Dates of rebuilding or modifications are sometimes estimates and may not reflect the true dates.

During the 70's, 80's and 90's, most NYC equipment was either retired or relettered for Penn Central and/or Conrail and the survivors may now carry NS or CSX reporting marks. To prepare for the Conrail breakup, some equipment had NYC reporting marks applied, regardless of their origin. These cars should NOT BE confused with actually NYC equipment as most of the cars these new NYC reporting marks are applied to never belonged to the original NYC and some were originally Pennsylvania Railroad equipment. Just prior to the time that Conrail started to apply the NYC reporting marks in preparation for the breakup, there were just THREE NYC cars still with their original NYC reporting marks and these cars were from the 506000-506199 Lot 888-F series.

There are few models that match any NYC prototype 100%, so some minor modifications may be required. One detail found on nearly all NYC cars are the roping staples - usually found above the bolsters, which nearly none of the current models available have this feature. For modelling purposes, I have broken the list into "ACCURATE MODEL" and "STAND-IN MODEL" Cars that are reasonably close that do not require a significant amount of work to resemble the NYC prototype are listed under "ACCURATE MODEL". Minor details may be incorrect and some cars may have molded on parts, but overall, the model is a reasonably correct model of a NYC car. Please note that these listings are based on the car model itself - not the paint job applied to the model. Some models may be accurate, but the paint jobs applied may have some form of accuracy issues which I have not covered in the list. Since the level of detail to make a model 'accurate' is up to the modeler, for this list, models that are accurate yet still have molded on details ( grab irons, etc.) will still count as accurate, whereas a poorly detailed model would end up in the Stand-In category. Models that require more significant work, have some significant detail differences or are simply not very accurate, but may be suitable as an option for some modelers are listed under "STAND-IN MODEL" . There may of course be models that I am not familiar with and therefore not listed. New models coming to market are added as soon as I am able to determine their possible NYC relation. Any suggestions for additional model listings are appreciated if I've missed a model that is on the market, though many of the emails I receive suggesting additions are quite often for cars that do not match any NYC prototype, which is why they are not even listed here.

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NOTES ON FREIGHT CAR PAINTING: Hoppers, flatcars and gondolas: An issue that keeps coming up concerns the color used on NYC freight cars - primarily the open top cars ( hoppers, flat cars and gondolas ), since during different time periods, they were painted either freight car brown or Black. So here is the answer based on Railroad documents, as outlined in various issues of the NYCSHS Headlight: * All NYC hoppers, flat cars and gondolas were painted black prior to February 20, 1941. * From February 20, 1941 to June 6, 1956 they were painted freight car brown. * After June 6, 1956, shops equipped for handling F-1 black car cement, between April 1 and October 1 were BLACK. Shops NOT equipped for handling F-1 cement and ALL shops between October 1 and April 1 were freight car brown. This information comes from Specification P-18, Painting Open Top and Flat Cars, first issued December 28, 1921. In practice, it seems that locations with inside paint facilities used black F-1 cement year round and these locations accounted for the preponderance of cars painted. * From about 1960 to 1968 a black paint replaced the F-1 cement and was used year round on hoppers, gondolas and flatcars. Some special service gondolas received silver paint. Some P&LE gondolas and flatcars were painted Century Green between 1960 and late 1966.   Heralds: * The oval "Lines" herald prior to November 1935 had a black background and was replaced with the oval "System" herald in November 1935. Oval Sizes: Effective Date:  18" x 9" used on flat cars, containers and container cars March 4, 1907  18" x 12" used on flat cars, and special flat cars May 11, 1905  28-1/4" x 19-1/8" used on self clearing hoppers, gondolas, double deck stock cars January 31, 1905  36" x 24" used on single deck stock cars November 12, 1904  48-3/8" x 32-1/2" used on boxcars and auto boxcars December 1904   * Roman style "System" herald used between November 1935 and August 1955. Between November 1935 and March 1944 - the roman "System" herald had a black background. The black background officially removed from the roman "System" herald starting March 2, 1944. Oval Sizes: Effective Date:  18" x 9" used on flat cars, containers, container cars and special flat cars November 25, 1935  28-1/4" x 19-1/8" used on self clearing hoppers, gondolas and double deck stock cars November 1935  36-3/8" x 24" used on single and double deck stock cars with large letterboard November 1935  48-3/8" x 32-1/2" used on boxcars and auto boxcars October 30, 1935    * Gothic style "System" herald used between August 1955 and May 1959. The black herald background returned with the gothic "System" herald. (NOTE: The gothic "System" herald was also used prior to 1955 on Pacemaker boxcars and bay window cabooses. Oval Sizes: Effective Date:  18-1/2" x 10-1/2" used on flat cars, composite and 65' gondolas, containers, container cars and special flat cars October 14, 1955  29" x 19-3/8" used on cabooses, gondolas, tank cars, self clearing hoppers, ballast cars, double and adjustable deck stock cars and auto racks September 7, 1955  31-5/8" x 19-1/4" used on steel bay window cabooses lots 782 and 778 September 16, 1949  48-3/8" x 32-1/2" used on Pacemaker boxcars 1946  54-3/8" x 37-3/4" used on boxcars and auto boxcars and repainted Pacemaker cars after October 28, 1955 August 19, 1955  36" x 24"" used on 70 ton welded triple hoppers November 15, 1956   * Blue and yellow Script herald of 1956 applied only to NYMX mechanical refrigerator cars ( A modified version of this herald was also applied to some locomotives during 1956 through 1959 ). This herald is approximately 45" x 30". * Yellow Early Bird herald applied only to Lot 862-B 50' boxcars in 1957. ( This herald was also applied as a test on Lot 737-B 40' boxcar #174853 ) * White Early Bird herald applied only to Lot 936 NYRX 40' insulated boxcars. * Experimental blue boxcar scheme applied to cars 92102 and 220539 in September 1958. * Cigar band 'test' cars appeared in November 1958 ( drawing dated October 22, 1958 ) with the horizontal bar below the center line. * Cigar band style herald officially adopted at 1959 Shareholders meeting and cars started to be repainted in the Century Green scheme June 1959. Originally, boxcars painted in the Century green had black roof and ends. September 18, 1961 - the line in the reporting marks was removed. During 1963 - cars started to appear with entire car body painted Century Green and smaller herald appeared on boxcars starting in 1964. Covered hoppers and flexi-van flats were painted gray with black lettering - despite what some model companies have produced - the NYC did not paint covered hoppers Century Green. A small number of covered hoppers were painted black, but never green. Flexi-vans never received the cigar band herald. Lots 130G and 148G cars had no heralds. Oval Sizes: Effective Date: 144" x 64" used on boxcars, auto boxcars, ACF cylindrical covered hoppers June 19, 1959  84" x 37" used on 125 pressure differential covered hoppers, cabooses and new built boxcars December 26, 1962  52" x 24" scotchcal decal used on boxcars and cabooses May 6, 1961  52" x 23-1/2" used on boxcars, auto boxcars, outside stake covered hoppers and gondolas May 11, 1964  33-1/8" x 15-5/8" scotchcal decal used on multi-level auto racks May 6, 1961  32-1/4" x 14-5/8" used on rebuilt 65ton and 70 ton 2 bay hoppers - all white with horizontal bars 1964  32-1/4" x 14-5/8" used on multi-level auto racks, transfer cabooses and coil cars March 9, 1961  32-1/4" x 14-5/8" used on 100ton gondola, lots 120G, 123G and 122F cars - all white with no horizontal bars June 1967  30" x 13-5/8" used on lot 959H cars only May 1965   * Variation of Cigar band style herald used by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. * Pacemaker cars painted starting in 1946 for service. It took until 1953 before all 1000 lot 737-B cars were modified and painted for Pacemaker service. Paint was Sherwin-Williams flash-dri paint red over gray. Red door and side sill under door when door in closed position also red. Ladders, grab iron rungs, brake wheel, underframe and trucks were black. As originally painted - Gothic lettering and herald white - no black background to herald. Paint diagram shows roof as black F-1 car cement, though most cars had red overspray making the roof appear red from ground level. No dimensional data on cars when originally painted other than LD LMT and LT WT. After February 1951 - cars that were repainted had reporting marks, car number as well as LD LMT and LT WT data painted black. Three cars - #174146, #174654 and #174861 - had ALL lettering in black - including the PACEMAKER FREIGHT SERVICE logo - circa 1952. Lot 848-B cars delivered in Pacemaker paint including complete dimensional data in black - these were the only cars built new in the PACEMAKER scheme - delivered in 1954. In September/October 1955, the oval "System" herald had the black background return. Complete dimensional data added to cars that were not fully repainted - usually in white paint. Also, there were 200 temporary Pacemaker Service cars from lot 773-B - which DID NOT receive the full red/gray Pacemaker paint. Most did receive the PACEMAKER FREIGHT SERVICE logo over their regular paint job, while some cars only received a small rectangle with the word PACEMAKER inside. When cars removed from Pacemaker service (starting in late 1959) - cars either repainted in regular boxcar scheme of the day or simply had the '4' in the car number changed to '5'.   * Paint Code Triangle: Starting in the early 1950s - NYC cars had a small 6-7/8" x 8-9/16" triangle applied to the bottom left corner of freight cars. 1" letters and numbers were used. The question that has been constantly asked over the years is - What does it mean ? Well - it was a stencil that indicated the type of primer and paint used on the car and when the car was painted. The top line was a code for how the car was cleaned prior to painting. The second line was the primer manufacturer code and primer type code. The third line was the finish paint coat manufacturer followed by the finish paint type followed by the number of paint coats. The bottom was was the paint shop code followed by month and year. In the example shown - the code reads: Cleaning: X = New Primer: 4 - C 4 = MFG: Pittsburgh Plate Glass C = Type: Vinyl Resin Finish Coat: 4 - C - 2 4 = MFG: Pittsburgh Plate Glass C= Type: Vinyl Resin 2 = 2 coats. Shop: P-S = Pullman Standard Date: 3-56 = March 1956. FOR LIST OF PAINT CODES - CLICK HERE   Other painting notes: * During the 1920's, many cars had a "S-" in front of the car number. This was meant to indicate that these were "system cars" and were considered on home rails regardless of which NYC subsidiary they were on. So a Michigan Central car could be returned to Big Four rails and be considered 'home' for accounting purposes. * A STAR under the herald was suppose to denote a car that was not to be sent off line ( per Charles Smith - NYCSHS - Third Quarter 1995 Headlight). In addition to this, based on an article in the December 1947 Headlight, there was a major shortage of freight cars, primarily boxcars, and this may have been in an effort to keep cars online to continue to provide enough cars for NYC customers ( please note that this is NOT specifically stated in the article). Since this shortage was from 1945 to around 1949, most cars having this star were built or rebuilt during this same period of time. During these years, cars were being retired ( due to being worn out by extreme war time demands on the fleet ) at a faster rate than new cars could be built and at the same time freight traffic was at an all time peace-time high, resulting in a critical shortage of cars during these years - this was a nationwide crisis - not a NYC only situation, so this may have been a NYC effort to keep a supply of cars on hand for their own customers. Once the shortage of cars ended, these cars roamed off home rails. * A YELLOW CIRCLE with a black A denotes a car acceptable for clean lading only.   Of course, with a Railroad the size of the NYC with a huge fleet of cars, there were some exceptions to these guidelines. Dates noted above are the official date on the NYC drawings and may not reflect the date of the first instance of the change.

If you have any questions, corrections or comments, please send them to: nyc @ canadasouthern.com

NYC Caboose roster: NYC Caboose roster/model reference NYC Passenger car roster: NYC Passenger car roster/model reference

UPDATED JULY 25, 2008

NYC FREIGHT CAR ROSTER

LOT #	BUILT	CAR NUMBERS	CAR TYPE	CUBIC FEET	WEIGHT CAPACITY IN TONS	DOOR SIZE	NUMBER OF CARS	SERVICE LIFE WITH NYC REPORTING MARKS	PROTOTYPE NOTES	REASONABLY ACCURATE MODEL	STAND-IN MODEL	MODEL NOTES
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	CCC&STL 45000-45499	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	500	1906-1937
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	CCC&STL 46000-46499	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	500	1906-1937
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 231100-231211 EX- CI&S 794292-794570	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	112	1906-1935	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 232093-232765 EX- CI&S 793446-794455	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	673	1906-1935	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 232800-232823 EX- CI&S 793446-794455	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	24	1906-1933	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 232841-232999 EX- CI&S 793446-794455	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	159	1906-1935	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
200-B	PULLMAN - 1906	P&E 45500-45999	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	500	1906-1936
201-B	HBC - 1906	LE&W 11000-11499	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	500	1906-1926
201-B	HBC - 1906	MCRR 50105-50604	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	500	1906-1938	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1924-1926
201-B	HBC - 1906	NYC 216500-219999 EX-NYC&HR 95500-98999	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	3500	1906-1937	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
201-B	HBC - 1906	NYC 229500-230999 EX NYC&HR 95500-98999	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2448	40	6'	1500	1906-1937	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
202-B	PULLMAN - 1907	NYC 228000-228499 EX- LS&MS 59000-59499	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2499	40	6'	500	1907-1940	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
202-B	PULLMAN - 1907	NYC 233000-233999 EX- CI&S 794571-795570	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2499	40	6'	1000	1907-1940	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
202-B	PULLMAN - 1907	MCRR 48605-50104	36' WOOD BOXCAR WITH WOOD UNDERFRAME	2499	40	6'	1500	1907-1940	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1924-1926
203-G	PULLMAN - 1906	CCC&STL 36500-36999	35'8" WOOD DROP BOTTOM GONDOLA ( 6 DROP DOORS)	1405	40		500	1906-1932	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO FLAT BOTTOM AND STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1930
203-G	PULLMAN - 1906	MCRR 7000-7599	35'8" WOOD DROP BOTTOM GONDOLA ( 6 DROP DOORS)	1405	40		500	1906-1928
203-G	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 304000-307499 NYC&HR 74000-77499	35'8" WOOD DROP BOTTOM GONDOLA ( 6 DROP DOORS)	1405	40		3500	1906-1930	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO FLAT BOTTOM AND STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1926
203-G	PULLMAN - 1906	NYC 308500-309999 LS&MS 34500-35999	35'8" WOOD DROP BOTTOM GONDOLA ( 6 DROP DOORS)	1405	40		1500	1906-1927	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO FLAT BOTTOM AND STEEL UNDERFRAME 1923-1926
204-G	SSC - 1907	NYC 335000-335999 EX- LS&MS 57000-57999	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1680	50		1000	1907-1938
204-G	SSC - 1907	NYC 338000-339999 EX- CI&S 183000-184999	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1680	50		2000	1907-1946
205-G	ACF - 1907	NYC 333000-333999 EX- NYC&HR 33500-34499	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1660	50		1000	1907-1944
205-G	ACF - 1907	NYC 334000-334999 EX- LS&MS 56000-56999	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1660	50		1000	1907-1941
205-G	ACF - 1907	MCRR 6000-6999	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1660	50		1000	1907-1948
206-G	BSC - 1907	CCC&STL 70200-70699	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1537	50		500	1907-1944
206-G	BSC - 1907	CCC&STL 69000-69499	40' STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1537	50		500	1907-1944
207-H	SSC - 1907	NYC 402000-402999 EX- LS&MS 58000-58999	30' 2 BAY SELF CLEARING HOPPER	1660	50		1000	1907-1944
207-H	SSC - 1907	NYC 416000-416099 EX- CI&S 185000-185099	30' 2 BAY SELF CLEARING HOPPER	1660	50		100	1907-1938
207-H	SSC - 1907	CCC&STL 74700-74949	30' 2 BAY SELF CLEARING HOPPER	1660	50		250	1907-1944	50 CARS ( CCC&STL 74898-74925, 74927-74933 AND 74935-74949 ) SOLD TO P&E JANUARY 1924 - P&E 3300-3349 IN SERVICE 1924-1948
208-F	ACF - 1907	NYC 497000-497999 EX- NYC&HR 32500-33499	41' STEEL FLAT		40		1000	1907-1949
208-F	ACF - 1907	NYC 496557-496856 EX- CI&S 74557-74856	41' STEEL FLAT		40		300	1907-1948
208-F	ACF - 1907	CCC&STL 50000-50249	41' STEEL FLAT		40		250	1907-1930
208-F	ACF - 1907	MCRR 33000-33499	41' STEEL FLAT		40		500	1907-1948
209-F	HBC - 1906	NYC 476900-476999 EX- NYC&HR 31900-31999	40' WOOD FLAT		40		100	1906-1944	SOME CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1924-1926
210-F	HBC - 1905	MCRR 33500-33999	40' WOOD FLAT		40		500	1905-1925
211-G	SSC - 1908	PMCK&Y 40000-40999	42' COMPOSITE GONDOLA	1233	50		1000	1908-1937
212-H	SSC - 1907	P&LE 37000-37499	30' 2 BAY SELF CLEARING HOPPER	1660	50		500	1907-1932
212-H	SSC - 1907	PMCK&Y 28500-28999	30' 2 BAY SELF CLEARING HOPPER	1660	50		500	1907-1935
213-B	ACF - 1906	NYC 48000-48999 EX- LS&MS 41000-41999	40'4" WOOD UNDERFRAME AUTO BOX	2971	30	8'	1000	1906-1935	CARS CONVERTED TO STEEL UNDERFRAME 1926-1930
214-B	PULLMAN - 1907	MCRR 95500-95999	40'4" WOOD UNDERFRAME AUTO BOX	2971	30	8'	500	1906-1925
215-C	SSC - 1906	P&LE 17000-17499	40'2" ALL STEEL COKE CAR WITH 6 DROP DOORS & 4 SIDE DOORS	2325	40		500	1906-1928	CONVERTED TO BOXCARS IN LOTS 455-B & 456-B
215-C	SSC - 1906	PMCK&Y 16500-16999	40'2" ALL STEEL COKE CAR WITH 6 DROP DOOR	2325	40		500	1906-1928	CONVERTED TO BOXCARS IN LOTS 455-B & 456-B
216-G	PRESSED STEEL - 1906	NYC 329500-329999 EX- NYC&HR 34500-34999	37'8" COMPOSITE GONDOLA	824	50		500	1906-1935
216-G	PRESSED STEEL - 1906	NYC 332000-332999 EX- LS&MS 55000-55999	37'8" COMPOSITE GONDOLA	824	50		1000	1906-1940
217-G	PRESSED STEEL - 1906	NYC 330000-331999 EX- LS&MS 53000-54999	40' ALL STEEL TWIN HOPPER GONDOLA	1729	50		2000	1906-1940
218-G	PRESSED STEEL - 1906	P&LE 6400-6649	37'8" COMPOSITE GONDOLA	824	50		250	1906-1932
219-G	PRESSED STEEL - 1907	PMCK&Y 15500-15899	<