Stencil guide

The reporting mark is only the first line of lettering on a freight car. These notes cover the weights, the dates, the brake panel, the identification tag, and the tank-car specification code. They are written for this site. They are not a copy of a manual, and they are not a substitute for one.

• CAPYCapacityCAPY is the car's nominal capacity, a rounded design figure, not the legal load limit.
• LD LMTLoad limitLD LMT is the maximum weight of freight the car is allowed to carry, in pounds.
• LT WTLight weightLT WT is the empty weight of the car, in pounds, from the last weighing.
• BLTBuilt dateBLT is the month and year the car was built, often with the builder's initials.
• COTSConsolidated stencilThe consolidated stencil gathers brake and inspection information into one panel. The boxes changed over the years.
• ACI / AEIACI labels and AEI tagsACI was a color-bar label the industry abandoned. AEI is the RFID tag that identifies the car to wayside readers.
• DOT / AAR specTank car specification stencilThe specification stencil, such as a DOT-111 or DOT-117 code, identifies which tank standard the car was built to.