All cars that are to be left on the layout or run during operating sessions or open houses must meet these standards.
The Chief Car Inspector and/or the Trainmaster will decide the disposition of any special cases not mentioned in these standards.
Property Numbers: Property numbers will be legible and affixed to the underside of all locomotives and rolling stock so the owner of the equipment can be identified should the need arise. The property number can be painted, penned, decaled, carved or done in any other way that is easily readable.
Car Weight: Car weight will be equal to one ounce plus one-half ounce per inch of car length as measured between the coupler pulling faces (the inside of the coupler knuckle.) A tolerance of plus or minus one-half ounce will be observed. Exceptions to this rule are locomotives, articulated cars and any car that cannot feasibly be brought up or down to the proper weight. The coupler trip pins on cars that are overweight will be painted red and the trip pins on cars that are underweight will be painted white. All weights will be properly secured to the car and unable to shift.
Free Rolling: All cars, when placed on a 3% grade, will roll without external help. Exceptions to this rule shall be powered and unpowered locomotives, passenger cars, maintenance of way equipment, and any car that draws power from the track for lighting or on-board sound systems.
Couplers: Couplers shall have both coupler knuckle and trip pin at the proper height as measured with the club’s coupler height gauge. Tolerance shall be plus or minus 0.010 inch. All couplers shall have a properly functioning centering spring as well as a metal knuckle spring. Locomotives with plows shall have a Kadee long-shank coupler on the plow-equipped end(s). Couplers not using a metal knuckle spring will not be acceptable for permanent use on the layout. McHenry SCALE couplers will also not be acceptable.
Trucks and Wheels: All wheels shall be in gauge and free of wobble. Wheelsets will also be free of dirt at the time of inspection. Metal wheelsets are recommended, but not mandatory. Trucks will turn freely and will not have excessive play.
Reporting Marks: For purposes of car identification during switching and/or in the event of a problem with a car, identifying reporting marks will be legible on the side of the car. Also for the same reason, a record will be kept by the Car Inspectors of the car numbers for each reporting mark and duplicate numbers will not be permitted. Exceptions to this are locomotives, passenger cars and other one-of-a-kind equipment.
All cars will be pulled off the layout once every two years to be checked that they still meet all standards. This is the responsibility of the Trainmaster.
Locomotives not using their roadnumber as an address will have the last 1/8-inch of their coupler trip pin painted green.