Brandon Muir from Canada wonders why locomotives in North America often have four digit numbers, and if the same number would be used in more than one railroad. Cody Grivno, Group Technical Editor, is here to explain.
Why are there four digit numbers on locomotives?
By Sammi DiVito | October 7, 2021
| Last updated on September 16, 2022
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It’s not unusual for locomotive numbers to be duplicated by different carriers and this is resolved by identifying the locomotive of the foreign road carrier by its reporting marks, such as: BNSF, UP, CSX, CP, or KCSM, as examples, followed by the locomotive number.
Home road locomotives typically do not carry reporting marks in operating documents such as track warrants, wheel reports, and similar documentation.
Reporting marks for locomotives are established and maintained by AAR.
As information, I did see two CBQ box cars with the same number after the 1970 merger. They were rounded up and sent to an X-GN shop in Minneapolis. I never did not know the disposition of those two cars.
Ed Burns
When CSX got their first order of AC locomotives (AC44CW) they started at number 1 and went up from there. Here’s a picture of CSXT 1
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2479662
Tim