| Chicago & North Western Railway Scale test Car 263603 at about North Avenue in Chicago, Illinois on an unknown day in October 1982, Ektachrome by Chuck Zeiler. The car is stenciled: GR WT 80000 CALIBRATED 10-19-82 CLEARING, ILL. What little I know about this type of car; it is used to calibrate railroad car scales for weighing loaded cars which determines the bill the customer receives for moving the commodity. Although the car has brake shoes, it has no air brakes. This is to keep the weight within five pounds of the calibrated weight and air brakes would cause brake shoe wear, which would reduce the weight of the car. The hand brake would be used to apply the brake shoes to the wheels during the calibration process. Generally, the car would be positioned on the railroad (or customer's) scale and the scale would be calibrated according to federal regulations at least once per year. The car is specifically designed with a minimum cavities and protrusions so as not to collect water or dirt which could affect the calibrated weight. |