Locomotive and rolling stock numbering

 I’m probably the only modeler who did this, but when I was decalling cars for my free lanced Atlantic Inland, and because I did not maintain a master numbering data sheet, I duplicated numbers on some cars. Because I usually did cars in mass batches in one case I decalled one number on one side and a different number on the other, by accident*

Originally, way back in the early 1990’s I had a hand written list. Once I got to the point where I had over a hundred cars of the same type*, this became cumbersome. The final straw was when a computer train inventory system I was using, which I liked very much, crashed along with that computer.

I recently established a new inventory system on Excell. But I did not have an “At a glance” number list for my home road. 

I rectified that a few nights ago, and this system, while not terribly technologically advanced, it allows me to expand my list and add car numbers in between those cars already established.

Now, I have ONLY ginned up a list of car numbers for my home road, not any foreign road names. 

I may have to change this in a few cases. For example, I own eighty-nine (89) PFE reefers, and eighty-seven (87) Western Maryland coal hoppers. Pullman Pool Sleepers might benefit from an entry on this list.

The possibilities are endless…


*Yes, I’m aware that some modelers have done that in order to utilize the same cars in two directions.

* I have nearly four hundred coal hoppers alone.

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