Canadian Railroads > Freight Car Friday - Some Different Containers

A couple of days ago, Langleyrailfan posted up some photos of CN Q116 at https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,4592365. On the third well car you'll see a rather vivid container; I shot one of these on the same day as my earlier post from today, Sunday June 24, in Black Canyon, and knew I'd be posting it, so David's post spurred me to get this done today. I've thrown in a bonus odd-ball for the third shot.
1. This was on a CP EB with a mixed bag, including grain cars on the head end, and well cars further back, at 1116. The container is ONE, for Ocean Network Express, as attention-grabbing as it gets (many would argue that CP's new container image is classier and just as bold). This 40-foot container's reporting marks are FDCU 035581 8; I've noticed the reporting marks on containers seem to have an extra digit, added on a little sticky, and I wondered what that was about. I searched the web for BIC (Bureau International des Containers) and reporting marks, and on a Wikipedia entry for ISO 6346, found out that this last, seventh digit is called a check digit. It's derived from a complicated formula involving the numbers and numerical equivalent of the letters in the reporting mark.
2. The heavily-smoked corner of the container speaks to exposure to some heavy exhaust in its life. ONE is a Japanese joint venture involving Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and the familiar Mitsui O.S.K Lines and K Line; it was formed in 2016 (so says the web), and started trading April 1 this year. Maybe we'll see more of the pink and less Mitsui and such as time passes.
3. I reacted a little slowly on this one, part of Q108 at 0831, so it was pretty much by me. This 20' container isn't so much concerned with you knowing whose it is, as realizing it's taller than its buddies! So it tells us "This is a 9'6 hgt container not 8'6"; I remember seeing excess-height containers with black and yellow striping on the upper excess portion, but this doesn't have it. The reporting marks are FXLU 740214 2, which identifies it as belonging to Flex Box Leasing Ltd., of Hong Kong. There's always something interesting going by.
Fred

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feclark Wrote:
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> I've noticed the reporting marks on containers
> seem to have an extra digit, added on a little
> sticky, and I wondered what that was about. I
> searched the web for BIC (Bureau International des
> Containers) and reporting marks, and on a
> Wikipedia entry for ISO 6346, found out that this
> last, seventh digit is called a check digit. It's
> derived from a complicated formula involving the
> numbers and numerical equivalent of the letters in
> the reporting mark.

Check digits are also used on continental European locomotives and railcars. These serve as a check in data entry of equipment numbers to determine whether the entry of all the preceding digits is correct.

railsmith Wrote:
> Check digits are also used on continental European
> locomotives and railcars. These serve as a check
> in data entry of equipment numbers to determine
> whether the entry of all the preceding digits is
> correct.

The concept was developed in the early 1950s by an IBM employee, Hans Peter Luhn. Look up "Luhn Algorithm" for more.

Ray

Starting in the early 70s Southern Railway added a letter check digit to the locomotive number. This was done away with after the NS merger.