I started taking iPhone photos of the most interesting railcars we receive at work this past May. I never thought it’d lead to a series, but here we are: I’ve shared thirty-nine pictures of graffiti since I started posting about them back in September. I’ve had a chance to look them all over over the past few days, and here are the best of what 2023 had to offer.
10- FARZA
The yard at work features three spurs extending off the old Big Four Michigan Branch that runs from Louisville to Goshen. The most obvious railcars face my factory from the opposite side of the fence, but I had to duck under the first row of cars to find the FARZA art. It arrived the week before Thanksgiving, and I love its bold colors and contrast.
9- OBESE
The OBESE car was one of the first I ever thought to take a photo of. It’s partially obscured by the fence, but I got a good laugh out of it every time I walked past for the week or two it was here. The imagery is perfect: whoever tagged this car blessed it with a particularly obese “OBESE”.
8- $20,000
The $20,000 railcar rolled up the day before Thanksgiving. In fact, I was standing outside smoking when I saw it. After CSX left, I ducked under the first row of cars to get a good picture. The contrasting design is the largest I’ve snapped a photo of, by far. I wonder if its subject matter refers to the maximum fine for a pair of criminal mischief counts.
7- HiWAY EXSRT
HIWAY EXSRT showed up in October. It gets the nod into my top ten favorites because of its bold colors and contrasting field of red stars. I have no idea what EKSRT means, but a quick image search on Google shows its a pretty common graffiti design.
6- PULPSdENTO
PULPSDENTO arrived in our yard in late August. It’s the first railcar of my ten favorites that features writing I can’t decipher! I like the inclusion of the boombox the most, but the entire piece -which appears to be a coverup- is pretty compelling as a whole.
5- EXiT
The next two pieces are companions- they arrived on adjacent cars earlier this month. The mix of green and pink on the EXIT car wasn’t a color combination I’d seen yet. It reminded me of my favorite Snapple. The clear lettering, bold aesthetic, and subtle accents stood out on an otherwise dreary day.
4- RiDE
The RIDE car was connected to the rear of the EXIT car. Like its companion, it also features clean lettering, bold colors, and subtle accents within the lettering. The use of the half-circle apostrophes makes me think we have the same artist to thank for both pieces.
3- YOVO SAiGhTS
I’m pretty sure my translation of the middle lettering is wrong, but the car I’m calling YOVO SAiGhTS was another early one I featured in my first railcar spotting post. I’ve been on the lookout for cartoon cars ever since a friend told me about one that came in last year that featured Timmy Turner from The Fairly OddParents. The trio of skulls isn’t from any Nickelodeon show, but they captured my attention anyway.
2- SHOME
The SHOME car is another late entry from earlier this month. Unfortunately, it was parked behind a gate that covered its best feature -the face- from my usual angles. I used my iPhone 12’s ultrawide camera inside the fence to get this unobscured shot. Unfortunately, I couldn’t zoom out enough to capture the rest of the piece, which extended out of frame on both sides.
1- KNOW
The KNOW car came in early September and quickly vaulted itself to the top of my favorites. The boney lettering’s transition from plum to white would have been enough to land somewhere on the list on its own, but the characters-a gaucho-wearing skull and some kind of inebriated rodent- turned the car up to the max. I wish every railcar we got had this much personality, and I’m looking forward to what comes our way over the course of the new year.
