Q: I am inquiring about the Official Railroad Equipment Register (ORER). It’s been mentioned in Model Railroader articles from time to time. Where can you purchase it? Is it a subscription? And if so, how often is it? What is the pricing? How can it help model railroaders and/or railfans? What kind of information does it contain? Please let me know all the pros and cons. Thank you! — Ronan Schwartz
A: The Official Railway Equipment Register is an industry reference that’s been published since 1896 (at least, that’s how far back our collection in the David P. Morgan Memorial Library goes back). We refer to it all the time when writing product reviews of rolling stock models. The ORER is invaluable if you’re compiling a freight roster of a prototype railroad in a particular year. This hefty publication lists all the working railroads in North America and their freight rosters by car number and Association of American Railroads (AAR) car type code. It also includes other information of use to modelers, including car dimensions, the address of the railroad’s headquarters, a list of its officers, passenger equipment rosters, and the locations of interchanges with other railroads. (They don’t list locomotives, though, unfortunately.)
The title, publisher, and frequency have changed over the years, but it’s currently published quarterly by S&P Global. For information, contact Official Railway Equipment Register, P.O. Box 3000, Northbrook, IL 60065. The annual subscription is $379, which is a bit steep. But as a hobbyist, you don’t need an annual subscription; you only need one copy, for the year you model.
Search online sources like eBay, Amazon.com, and rare and specialty book vendors like Arizona Hobbies and AbeBooks for “Official Railway Equipment Register.” You’ll find a lot of vintage copies for sale, as well as some reprints. You might not be able to find the volume for the year you model, but like the items on “The Price is Right,” you want the one closest to your model year without going over.
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