Below you will find a link to the summary of the current members' rolling stock recorded in the Railroad Passenger Car Alliance (RPCA) and Cab Unit Preservation Society (CUPS) combined Equipment Roster.
The RPCA currently represents well over 100,000 TONS of hardware. That is impressive by any account. This representation is manifested in the Equipment Roster.
This roster includes all equipment for which current and past members have provided data. This data covers most technical characteristics, e.g. builder, year built; types of brake valves, couplers, trucks, and electrical power; COTS date, Amtrak 40 year date, Blue Card date, HP, HEP or Steam Generator, FRA compliant glazing, black water holding tanks, emergency egress windows, etc. Some of the aesthetic characteristics are included, e.g. floor covering, window covering, and exterior colors. We now even include an electronic picture of the entry if provided. In total there are 60 data fields for each entry/record.
Equipment in free movement under the new reporting marks have a larger data base of information needed to be compliant with AAR UMLER requirements. For this and legal reasons, that equipment is handled within the roster in a different manner.
RPCA MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT As part of the RPCA Membership benefits package, RPCA member have free access to information about all this tonnage, except for that information that has been restricted by the owner. However, such restricted rolling stock still accumulates in the subtotals and totals. This access includes at least one printing per year of the roster with limited data fields due to the magnitude of the data base. More detailed information is available by phone, mail, e-mail and/or fax access during the year.
Non-members may receive very limited information from the roster for a nominal fee for printing and mailing, on the presumption that a benefit will be provided to our members.
PRINTED DATA BASE VERSION At the Summer 2003 Board meeting, the RPCA Board of Directors annulled future printing of the Equipment Roster due to the high costs. This year the Roster would have been over 50 pages and would have cost nearly $2,200 to print and mail.
A limited printing was authorized so that new members will receive a printed copy similar to what all members received in the past in their welcome packet from the Membership Committee.
The Board is now reviewing provisons for current members to receive copies on CD Rom along with the By Laws, Membership Roster and any other important information annually. Members are invited to comment to the Board.
HISTORICAL DATA For historical purposes, no record is ever dropped from the roster, unless it is confirmed to be a duplication. If a member does not renew, the record(s) associated with that member are removed from the summaries and printings, but remain in the data base. If the car/loco is known to have been scrapped or sold, the date/time period for that and to whom is entered if available.
For that reason, we need you to provide us that information. The data base is only as good as the information our members provide.
The RPCA Board of Directors has allowed that information from the roster will be provided for legitimate historical purposes, as long as RPCA receives appropriate identification as the source in the bibliography as a minimum.