Railroad Passenger Car Numbering Bureau
Throughout the
history of railroads one of the most complicated tasks has been the process of
keeping track of which car goes where, what's in it and who owns it! For
well over 100 years the railroads employed a group of dedicated clerks
whose entire job consisted of watching trains come into the yard and
writing down each car number and then having to figure out where the car
is going. If there was a repair to be made to a car the process got even
more difficult because then the railroad had to find out who to send the
bill to.
In the 1960's the railroads began to computerize and car accounting
became a breeze. Although primitive to today's standards the system was
cutting edge at the time. Utilizing large computer banks with reel to
reel tapes, visual trackside scanners and large bar coded signs mounted
on the sides of cars, the railroads finally were able to automate the
car accounting process.
As technology progressed the car accounting system became the finely
tuned database now known as Umler. The system is administered by a company called
Raillinc and has become so effective that any car owner now can go online and
find out right where their cars are in North America
.
Several years ago all the Class I railroads in North America adopted the
Umler system. And today if your railroad equipment is going to move it
has to be registered under reporting marks in Umler. The
process of registering reporting marks and maintaining all your car
information can be a daunting job. Recognizing this, the RPCA created
the Railroad Passenger Car Numbering Bureau as a service to our members.
The RPCNB is an arm of the RPCA organization and is dedicated to
maintaining all the data on our members cars under the RPCA reporting
marks of RPCX . The RPCNB is managed by RPCA member Great Lakes Railcar.
For more information on getting your car or locomotive registered please
contact the RPCNB at:
RPCNB
Box 314
Chillicothe, IL
61523
O-309-229-9424
F-866-760-9396
EMAIL RPCNB
Visit the main RPCNB site:
