I didn’t make it out to the rail yard that much this month, but sometimes a little downtime between visits helps me see things with fresh eyes. Of the few cars that rolled through, most of the real standouts were tucked behind the fence, where a handful of pieces carried the kind of color and detail that make the wait worthwhile. Welcome to another edition of railcar spotting!
If you’re new here, here’s what railcar spotting is: I work at a plastics factory where most of our raw materials arrive by rail instead of by truck. That setup turns our yard into a kind of rolling art gallery. Each month, new cars from across the country pull in, their steel sides covered in layers of color, stories, and graffiti from places I’ll probably never see firsthand. This car, which reads “CYNIC JAGER,” caught my eye immediately.
So did this “BUSCH” car, which was fortunately easy to read. If decoding graffiti were like baseball, I’d be hitting cleanup with my batting average! If it were basketball, though? I’d be shooting free throws like Shaq. I probably crack about half the tags I see.
Take this car, for example. I have absolutely no idea what it says! Much of whatever it once spelled out is long gone thanks to a fresh coat of CSX paint. A retired railroad friend once told me the company only bothers covering graffiti if it hides something important, like car numbers or handling instructions. Judging by what’s been painted over here, I’d say he’s spot-on.
My favorite find of the month was this mix of pieces. The tags to the left and right appear abstract, but the emerald one in the middle must have said something before it faded. My favorite part was the two grinning gems on either side of it! They’re part of what I call a “character car,” and those are always fun to find.
Here’s a close-up of one of the little gem guys peeking out from between the chain-link. There’s something about him that makes me stop every time I scroll past the photo. Maybe it’s that sly, knowing glance, like he’s in on a secret the rest of us missed.
Perhaps that secret was this bona fide character car that showed up the following Wednesday. I can’t make out what it says, but there’s definitely a Pink Panther there, along with a couple of other cartoons that have faded beyond recognition. Jewels from the previous car aside, this one was the real gem of November.
It’s hard to believe, but we’re nearing the end of another year of railcar spotting. There’s just one more post left before I wrap things up with the annual roundup of my favorites! For the past few years, it’s been one of my favorite pieces to put together as a chance to look back at the wild colors and clever tags that rolled through the yard over the past twelve months. Even after all this time, it still amazes me how much creativity passes through behind that fence just feet from my office.
