Model Railroading > BN(SF) 40’ COIL CARe car (Part 3) – Dazed & Confused

This is Part 3 of a series on the BN(SF) COIL CARe car.  (Parts 1 and 2 were posted earlier.)
 
When I was standing trackside in 1999, all of the COIL CARe cars were BN Green and all of the lettering schemes matched.  Pretty easy to model.  Get the lettering on one car right, and the others are rinse-and-repeat.  However, 20+ years later it is a very different story.  The repaints are all over the map when it comes to lettering schemes. 
 
Wind It Up
It is like the road numbers and lettering schemes spent an hour in a cement mixer, and then were dumped-out.  To try to wrap my head around them, it helps to have an idea of the (approximate) percentages of each.  (For those with a statistical analysis background, they are squirming in their seats since these percentages are by no means “accurate”.  At best is it a ballpark estimate, which is all I need.)
 
About 50-50
There are 40’ and 50’ versions of the COIL CARe cars.  BNSF ordered about the same number of 50’, so the total number of the fleet pretty much doubled.  About 49% are 40’, and 51% are 50’.  The most obvious changes to the PacMan logo is the image of the railcar graphic (upon which the “e” is reclined) was elongated.  This was to differentiate between the 40’ and 50’ versions.  The concept was to have “XL” to the right of the lower case “e” when the COIL CARe car was a 50’, and leave-off the “XL” designation for the 40’.  This was to help crews match the COIL CARe cars to their covers.  (However, it appears the paint shops didn’t get the memo since many 40’ cars were given XL designations.)
 
Here are the percentages of each flavor, based on prototype images:
 
Percentages of COIL CARe car lettering schemes for 40’ and 50’ cars:
 
NOTE: the left column is the percentage of ALL cars in the fleet (both 40’ and 50’). 
The 2nd column is the percentage (roughly) of just 40’ cars with that lettering scheme.
 
Within the 40’ repaints:
 
Fleet     40’ only         Count       Description     
------     -----------    ---------      ---------------------------------------------
23%      46%               157         PacMan (close to original BN)
  4%       8%                 27          PacMan without BNSF Swoosh badge
11%      22%                75          PacMan with BNSF Swoosh badge
11%      22%                78          PacMan - XL (mislabeled)
--------                       -------
49%                           337           TOTAL 40’
 
The 50’ cars were new, so their variety of lettering schemes is a bit more tame:
 
Fleet     50’ only          Count       Description     
------     -----------    ---------      ---------------------------------------------
22%      44%               156         PacMan - XL
29%      58%               202         NO “COIL CARe” logo or PacMan
------                        ---------
51%                            358            TOTAL 50’
 
Since the prototype images skip many road numbers, these totals fall way shy of the actual numbers of COIL CARe cars on the rails.  However, assuming the images are statistically random, it can be assumed they (very roughly) reflect the percentages of the COIL CARe cars out there.  This then gives an idea of the ratio that might be found in a typical consist.  The most accurate method is to look at one of the many YouTube videos of the Coil Train and freeze-frame it to see the road number and lettering scheme. 
 
Of course, when modeling your own consist, you can do as you please.  :-D
 
Original
The lettering scheme that is a close match to the original BN Green cars was used on nearly half of the 40’ repaints.
 
Swoosh
The 40’ COIL CARe cars with and without the BNSF Swoosh share the same COIL CARe car logo.  It is assumed this lettering scheme was started without the BNSF Swoosh, but later the lettering was modified to incorporate the BNSF Swoosh.  The non-Swoosh cars are a 8% subset of the 40’ cars.
 
The BNSF Swoosh is 22%, and represents the new corporate logo BNSF decided upon.  It is unique to the 40’ car, and probably was incorporated after the 50’ cars were already painted and delivered.
 
If It Moves, Paint It Brown
In the rush to paint everything BNSF Brown by multiple shops, some inconsistencies are bound to occur.  If the paint crew is not familiar with the subtle differences between the 40’ and 50’ versions, the “XL” designation (intended for the 50’ car) will end up on the 40’ version.  This appears to be what happened.  The intended lettering scheme was the same for both 40’ and 50’, with the exception of the “XL” designation.  This “typo” makes up 22% of the 40’ COIL CARe cars.
 
As usual, there are random oddball cars.  Initially I had assumed that eventually every BN Green car would have been shopped and repainted in BNSF Brown.  Surprisingly, there are still a number of BN Green COIL CARe cars on the rails today.  Most are patched with BNSF road numbers, but some are still sporting their original BN road number.  The odds that these cars will be repainted is slim, which only adds to the variety possible.
 
Nitpicker Antidote
Using prototype photos is always a good idea when modeling.  With the COIL CARe cars, it is especially important.  The usual tidy groupings of road numbers with consistent lettering schemes does NOT apply here!  However, for those (like me) that prefer variety and oddball stuff, this is a terrific opportunity to model something unique.  Just be sure to keep those prototype photos handy.  When modeling oddball equipment, someone is bound to ask, “Did BNSF ever run that lettering scheme on their COIL CARe cars?”   The prototype photo that served as the basis for the model will generally help educate any visitors with the knowledge that the model in question is indeed accurate.  ;-)
 
Unit Trains
In the good ol’ days, BNSF ran a unit Coil Train over Tehachapi about once a week.  However, it appears BNSF no longer runs them, and instead strings of the COIL CARe cars are run as part of mixed freights.  A dozen or more COIL CARe cars are run several times a week, vs. run together as a unit train.  Sept. 2018 is the oldest date I can find of a video with a BNSF unit train with a COIL CARe car consist. 
 
youtube.com/watch?v=g5nhCa5ohJI

[You probably already know the drill for YouTube links.  Cut-n-paste the above URL text into your browser.] 

BTW, that video also shows 4 BN Green cars, 2 patched for BNSF, and 2 still with their original BN road numbers.
 
Dave
 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/22 08:44 by tmotor.

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Your "Western Font" is actually Cooper Black. This is what the Santa Fe used.

Greetings PHall!

> Your "Western Font" is actually Cooper Black. This is what the Santa Fe used.

Thank you for the clarification!  That will be very helpful when creating the graphics for the decals.

There are an UNBELIEVABLE number of fonts out there.  Trying to match a font is quite the Easter Egg Hunt.  I appreciate the assist.  :-D

Take care and God bless!
Dave