Oldest Rail Equipment Still In Regular Service

I'd guess "Regular Service" is the key here, "Continuous service" also. Iowa Traction RR in Clear Lake, still rosters a fleet of ancient electric interurban locomotives, steeple cab style. oldest is #60 built by Baldwin-Westinghouse. still running in "revenue" service (earning its keep), pretty much daily (at least never "retired", per se)
History of #60:
1917-1932 Youngstown & Ohio River Railroad
1932-1948 Union Electric Railway
1948- Mason City & Clear Lake Railway et seq. (IA terminal, IA Traction)

Still working as of a couple weeks ago

Mike

When I worked for the DM&E in the late 1980's, we had a Jordan Spreader that was built in 1915. It had a large wedge plow on one end, and we used it as a snow plow.
I was surprised to find the original owner's manual inside the cab.

The longevity of railroad equipment is largely determined by FRA interchange rules, which limit the age of equipment that can be handled in interchange to 50 years. Other factors are limitations on equipment fitted, such as the rule forbidding friction journal bearings. Of course, if the equipment is never interchanged, and can pass safety inspections, it can be used in company service indefinitely, as far as I know.

The oldest equipment I can recall in interchange service was seen on the Milwaukee Road when I worked in Madison, WI in the 1970's. We handled tank cars with build dates in the 1920's. We also occasionally handled Wellsville, Addison, and Galeton 30' wooden box cars for green hide loading out of Oscar Meyer. I do not recall the build date on these. I tried to avoid getting too close to those cars!

Les

Desertdweller wrote:When I worked for the DM&E in the late 1980's, we had a Jordan Spreader that was built in 1915. It had a large wedge plow on one end, and we used it as a snow plow.
I was surprised to find the original owner's manual inside the cab.

The longevity of railroad equipment is largely determined by FRA interchange rules, which limit the age of equipment that can be handled in interchange to 50 years. Other factors are limitations on equipment fitted, such as the rule forbidding friction journal bearings. Of course, if the equipment is never interchanged, and can pass safety inspections, it can be used in company service indefinitely, as far as I know.

The oldest equipment I can recall in interchange service was seen on the Milwaukee Road when I worked in Madison, WI in the 1970's. We handled tank cars with build dates in the 1920's. We also occasionally handled Wellsville, Addison, and Galeton 30' wooden box cars for green hide loading out of Oscar Meyer. I do not recall the build date on these. I tried to avoid getting too close to those cars!

Les

Wellsville, Addison, and Galeton wood boxcars were built in the 1930's for the B&M they were later sold to the WAG and were still in interchange well into the 1970's and were used to haul animal hides from the Midwest back to to the many tanneries that the WAG serviced in Pennsylvania. Info is from Freight Train Cars MBI Publishing Company. On Page 49 a WAG Car was photographed on the C&NW in 1974 in Dixon, Illinois

MODERATOR'S NOTE:

Let's stay to topic please. We're not talking about equipment in service 10, 20, or even 40 years ago: We're talking equipment currently on rosters of railroads run as a business.

Here's my earlier note:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 53#p891391

Thanks.

NS still has some MOW flats used in welded rail trains that date to the 20's.