Grain Car Marking/Equipment Numbers

Traveling on 186 over the weekend, noticed the addition of yellow vertical stripes on CPR grain cars and some other (but not all) equipment. Purpose?

Also notice on some grain cars, car numbers had been truncated from at least four markings to two, specifically to
CP [space] [space] number from CP[XX] number.

Any reasons why?

-- hainault

I knew I'd seen something about this before... so I went and Google'd it...

1. I've noticed recently that many of Canadian National's and Canadian Pacific's grain hoppers have the WX painted out from the reporting marks, i.e. CNWX and CPWX. What is going on? 2. CN has been scrapping some grain cars. Are the railway planning to scrap the fleet?Alex Filotti, Toronto ON

1. The grain cars were owned by the Government of Canada and have been sold to the railways. CNWX and CPWX were the reporting marks used for the government and with the railways purchasing the cars, these markings had to be changed to reflect the new owners. It was a simple task just to remove the "WX" as the two railways' reporting marks are CN and CP respectively. 2. CN has been scrapping some of the aluminum grain cars which were built for the light prairie branch lines most of which have been abandoned. So the cars are no longer needed.

Credit to this page: http://www.bytownrailwaysociety.ca/answers.htm

All freight cars and locomotives need this high visibility reflective tape applied as of 2005. There are various ways they can be laid out, some are vertical and some horizontal. It can be one long piece along the whole side of a car/locomotive, or individual pieces such as you witnessed. The colors can be reflective yellow or white.There striped as they make there rounds into the car shops. There is a date when every car needs to have it by, i believe it is like 2012 or something along those lines, and every new car 2005 and beyond has been delivered new with this requirement.

This is because 85% of all grade crossings in the US and Canada are passive crossings without and gates, bells or lights. These crossings are only protected by your good "railroad crossing" cross bucks. And out of all grade crossing collisions 25% happen when motorist run into the side of the train.