Western Railroad Discussion > MP 13818

We went to Lawrence (Ks.) and Kansas City (Ks. & Mo.) this past weekend. Because of flooding along the Missouri River (which has closed I-29 and other roads) it was necessary to take some back roads in Nebraska and Kansas (is there any other kind of road in Nebraska and Kansas?) to get to our destination. On the way back I found this MP caboose in Hiawatha, Kansas. It’s obviously used as pushing platform as there is a solar collector on the roof to power the radio in the open box ( I photographed this caboose exactly as I found it.)

I am not sure why they need this caboose in Hiawatha, or for that matter why the run a local job out of Hiawatha (the caboose was in the company of an HCLX GP38-2). But anyway, I have some questions.

1. I thought the MP logo was kind of interesting. I preferred the buzz saw over the Eagle, but I don’t remember the two being used together. Was this common?
2. I’ve always wondered what COTS means. Could someone explain it?
3. This car was serviced at Dupo Illinois? I thought the MoPac had shops at Desoto, Mo., not at Dupo.
4. What does the yellow dot mean? As I recall this is from the 1970s and meant that the car did not have a certian wheel type, is that corect?

One final observation—the last picture apparently suggests that this caboose is an after-hours party car? (Yes, I know, if the car is unlocked, anyone could have put that there.)

Thanks for looking and your comments.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/11 05:49 by WichitaJct.

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Last image of MP 13818.

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WichitaJct Wrote:
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> 1. I thought the MP logo was kind of interesting.
> I preferred the buzz saw over the Eagle, but I
> don’t remember the two being used together. Was
> this common?

All MP shorty bay window cabooses had this logo applied when new.

> 2. I’ve always wondered what COTS means. Could
> someone explain it?

COT&S = "Clean, Oil, Test & Stencil" is from rule 60 of the 1966 AAR Interchange
Rules and applies to the air brake equipment on freight cars.

> 3. This car was serviced at Dupo Illinois? I
> thought the MoPac had shops at Desoto, Mo., not at
> Dupo.

I don't know much about the MP but COTS can be done any almost anywhere there is a carman.

> 4. What does the yellow dot mean? As I recall
> this is from the 1970s and meant that the car did
> not have a certian wheel type, is that corect?

This was the U-1 Inspection Stencil which was applied to designate freight cars which had 33" wheels manufactured by the Southern Wheel Company. These wheels were suspected of failing in service and causing several serious derailments. This FRA regulation began March 31, 1978 with the inspection of all 70-ton or less cars that had 33" wheels. Freight cars that had approved wheels were stenciled with a 6" yellow dot in a 12" black square.

Freight cars with defective Southern Wheels wheels were stenciled with a 6" white dot in a 12" black square. These cars could not be used in a train carrying hazardous materials until December 31, 1978 when they could not be used in any train until the wheels were removed and replaced with wheels of an approved type.

"COT&S = "Clean, Oil, Test & Stencil" is from rule 60 of the 1966 AAR Interchange
Rules and applies to the air brake equipment on freight cars."

How often does a car have to have a COTS?

Also note below COTS is the letters ABDW.

That is the type of Air Brake Control Valve the car (or caboose in this case) is equipped with.

AB was the original design and I doubt any non-musuem railcars still have them.
ABD is an improved design over AB and I know there are a few cars out there with this valve, mostly non-revenue work equipment.
ABDW is an improvement over the ABD and it what probably half or more of the current freight car fleet is equipped with.
ABDX is the newest version and as been "standard" on new cars since the late 1990's. Any freight car longer than 70 feet has the modified ABDX-L brake valve which is designed to handle longer cars.

The good thing about these valve designs is they can fit on the same exact connectors on the freight car, so upgrading is relatively simple process.

WichitaJct Wrote:
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> 1. I thought the MP logo was kind of interesting.
> I preferred the buzz saw over the Eagle, but I
> don’t remember the two being used together. Was
> this common?

For many years the standard logo for the MP was the buzz saw with "Missouri Pacific Railroad" spelled out. Beginning about 1973, MP started using a revised logo with the combined buzzsaw/screaming eagle, mostly on printed materials. By 1975, MP revised their locomotive scheme with the combined buzzsaw and freight cars started getting this logo by 1978 or so. So by the time of the 1982 UP-MP merger, this logo was pretty common.

cdub Wrote:
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For many years the standard logo for the MP was
> the buzz saw with "Missouri Pacific Railroad"
> spelled out.

You sure it didn't have "Missouri Pacific Lines" spelled out?

Pump

UPTRAIN Wrote:
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> cdub Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> For many years the standard logo for the MP was
> > the buzz saw with "Missouri Pacific Railroad"
> > spelled out.
>
> You sure it didn't have "Missouri Pacific Lines"
> spelled out?
>
> Pump


Your right. MP Lines was spelled out in the buzzsaw, not Railroad.

COT&S means clean, oil, test & stencil. After the carman does a COT&S, he stencils the date it was done. When I was an air brake carman on the rip track in Topeka, that's what I did for the last two years before I went into engine service at Emporia. It was simply called a "cleaner". You had to take out the old piston, clean out the old grease, and grease up & install a new one. You cleaned out the dirt collector at the cut-out cock and put it back together with a new gasket. You oiled & tested the retainer valve. You also removed both the emergency & service valves, and installed rebuilt ones with new gaskets. There was a filter in the mounting block to change too. After that, you hooked up the single car test device and let the system charge up. When the florator indicated little or no more air flowing into the system, you could start your air test. If any leaks at all showed up during the test, you corrected them. Then you could measure piston travel & correct if necessary. You also had to change out any out of date air hoses, gladhand gaskets and worn out brake shoes, and oil & test the hand brake. When I was doing this in the 70's, cars with the old AB valves had to have a cleaner every 4 years, but if they were on the rip track and were within three months, we did it while it was there. ABD's & up were a six year valve. I think they run them until they fail now. Sometimes I would do two or three of these a day, plus several IDT's which were "in date tests". A simple air test every 90 days when a cleaner was not required. Then I would stencil it for the "IDT" date.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/11 14:23 by ddg.