LT WT
Light weight
LT WT is the empty weight of the car, in pounds, from the last weighing.
LT WT means light weight: the weight of the car with no lading in it. The stencil is in pounds. It includes the body, the trucks, and the appliances that were on the car when it was weighed. It does not include the freight.
Light weight is paired with the load limit. Together they describe the gross weight the car is stenciled to. If you are trying to understand a weight block, read LT WT and LD LMT as one statement: empty weight, plus the most you may add.
Near the light weight you will often see a date, and sometimes a short code for the place that did the weighing. A new car may show a NEW date, the day it was first weighed, which is not always the same month it was built. Later reweighs get their own dates. The light weight on the car is only as current as that last weighing.
Modelers use the light weight as a clue to the car's era and its appliances. A rebuilt car, or one that gained insulation, outlet gates, or a heavier floor, will not keep the builder's original empty weight. The stencil is a weighing, not a catalog spec frozen at the factory.
Common questions
- What does LT WT stand for?
- Light weight, the empty weight of the car in pounds.
- Does light weight include the cargo?
- No. Light weight is the car without lading. The cargo is limited by the load limit stencil.