K-Line Numbering Scheme

Passenger Cars
As new passenger cars were announced, the Streamliners in 1995 and the Extruded Aluminum cars in 1998, it became imperative to identify the type of car with a series number (44, 45 and 46 respectively). All passenger car listings in this guide include the complete number (type, railroad, car number), regardless of how the car was originally cataloged.

Key to Passenger Car Number Examples:
L = Car Length (1=15”, 2=16”, 3=18”, 4=21”)
RR = Railroad from Engine/Passenger Cart
PPPP = Prototypical Number on Car
K44RR-PPPP Scale Heavyweight
K45RR-PPPP Streamliner
K46RR-LPPPP Scale Aluminum Car

Engine and Passenger Car Railroad List
02 Alaska Railroad 39 Long Island Rail Road
03 Amtrak 40 MKT
04 Atlantic Coast Line 41 Lehigh Valley
08 Chicago & Alton 43 Milwaukee Road
09 Boston & Albany 45 Missouri Pacific
10 Baltimore & Ohio 48 Napa Valley
11 Burlington Northern/BNSF 49 New Haven
12 Chessie 50 Northern Pacific
13 California Zephyr 55 Norfolk & Western
14 CB&Q 70 New York Central
15 Chesapeake & Ohio 71 New York Central
16 Circus Transport 80 Pennsylvania
17 Canadian National 81 Reading
18 Canadian Pacific 83 Ringling Bros Circus
19 Central of New Jersey 84 Roack Isaland
20 Chicago & North Western 85 TCA/Toy Train Musuem
21 Denver & Rio Grande 86 Southern
22 Delaware & Hudson 88 Southern Pacific
25 Erie Lackawanna 89 Texas & Pacific
27 Florida East Coast 90 Union Pacific
30 Santa Fe 91 Union Pacific
32 Golden State 92 Timken
33 Great Northern 96 Western Maryland
35 Illinois Central 97 Western Pacific
37 Kennecott Copper (KCC) 98 Licensed Engines
38 Lackawanna 99 Special


Freight Cars
In the original K-LINE freight car numbering system, each stock number indicated the body style of an item. The K-5000 series cars are O-27 and the K-6000 series cars are “O” Gauge. In general, numbers were assigned chronologically, however, some numbers were assigned and the items were not produced in that order. Or, in some cases, never produced at all and the number was not re-assigned to another item. Chronology was the key to this system, however, number conservation, as mentioned before, was practiced with vengeance. Therefore, when reviewing an item list in number order, the chronology sometimes, falls apart. K-6408, one of the first “O” Gauge boxcars, was decorated for the Chessie system and produced in 1987. The next item in the list is K-640802. This item was decorated for Chesapeake and Ohio (part of the Chessie System) and produced in 1993.

With the advent of the new K-LINE box-type tooling in 1995, a new numbering scheme was developed for these items. Initially, only on the box-type cars (K640 series) were numbered in this new scheme, although over the next few years, all freight cars were numbered in this manner.

The second numbering scheme has three parts. The first part indicates the body style and is grouped with the K (to improve the comprehension and readability of a seven-digit number). The second part follows the dash and refers to the railroad or category. The third part reveals how many different cars of that type have been produced for that railroad. For example, one of the first cars numbering this scheme was the Southern Classic Boxcar, K641-2011. The 641 means it is a 40 foot boxcar. The 201 indicates this is a Southern Railway car and the final digit tells a die-hard collector that this is first boxcar produced for the Southern that was numbered in this manner.

The tricky part of this second scheme, especially for collectors who followed along with the consecutive numbers, is determining the three digit number that refers to each railroad. The K-LINE numbermeister has divided most railroads (both historic and current) into major and minor categories. These divisions were based on size, historic importance and model railroad appeal (see list beginning on p.24).

The major railroads are numbered in the 100s and 200s with enough space to number up to 20 cars of each type. There is also the space to add major railroads if the need arises. BNSF has been added since the original allocation of numbers.

The minor railroads are numbered in the 300s and 400s and only have space for ten cars of each style. Licensed items are numbered in the 500s and 600s. K-LINE cars get 700 series numbers Short lines, privately-owned cars or any other miscellaneous cars that are part of the regular train line go in the 800 series. All custom production items are assigned numbers in 900 series.

Key to Freight Car Number Examples:
N = Next Number for Railroad
NN = Next Number in Sequence
RRR = Railroad from Freight Railroad List

K-51NN O-27 Boxcar
K-52NN O-27 Stock Car
K-53NN O-27 Hopper
K-54NN O-27 Tank Car
K-55NN O-27 Flat Car
K-56NN O-27 Gondola
K-57NN O-27 Double Door Boxcar
K-61NN Caboose (Scheme 1)
K611-RRRN Caboose (Scheme 2)
K612-RRRN Scale Bay Window Caboose
K613-RRRN Scale Extended Vision Caboose
K614-RRRN O-27 BW Caboose
K615-RRRN Scale N5C Caboose
K-62NN Hopper (Scheme 1)
K621-RRRN Hopper (Scheme 2)
K-625N Ribbed Hopper (Scheme 1)
K622-RRRN Ribbed Hopper (Scheme 2)
K623-RRRN Scale Die Cast Hopper
K-63NN Tank Car (Scheme 1)
K631-RRRN Tank Car (Scheme 2)
K632-RRRN Tank Car with Die Cast Chassis
K-64NN Boxcar (Scheme 1)
K641-RRRN Boxcar (Scheme 2)
K642-RRRN Wood-Sided Reefer
K643-RRRN Stock Car
K644-RRRN Double Door Boxcar
K645-RRRN Reefer (Scheme 2)
K-65NN Gondola (Scheme 1)
K651-RRRN Gondola (Scheme 2)
K652-RRRN Scale Die Cast Gondola
K-66NN Flat Car (Scheme 1)
K-665N Depressed Center Flat Car (Scheme 1)
K661-RRRN Flat Car (Scheme 2)
K662-RRRN Depressed Center Flat Car (scheme 2)
K663-RRRN Scale Die Cast Skeleton Log Car
K-67NN Scale Ore Car (Scheme 1)
K671-RRRN Scale Ore Car (Scheme 2)
K-675NNN Vat Car (Scheme 1)
K675-RRRN Vat Car (Scheme 2)
K676-RRRN Scale Coil Car
K-68NN Crane Car (Scheme 1)
K681-RRRN Crane Car (Scheme 2)
K-685N Boom Car (Scheme1)
K682-RRRN Boom Car (Scheme 2)
K-69NN Scale Flat Car (Scheme 1)
K691-RRRN Scale Flat Car (Scheme 2)
K692-RRRN Scale Die Cast Depressed Center Flat Car
K693-RRRN Scale Die Cast Flat Car
K-70NN Operating Boxcar (Scheme 1)
K701-RRRN Operating Boxcar (Scheme 2)
K-71NN Operating Hopper
K-72NN Operating Searchlight (Scheme 1)
K721-RRRN Operating Searchlight (Scheme 2)
K-73NN Operating Radar Car
K-735N Operating Searchlight Caboose
K-74NN Smoking Caboose
K-75NN Reefer (Scheme 1)
K751-RRRN Scale Die Cast Boxcar
K752-RRRN Scale Die Cast Wood-Sided Reefer
K756-RRRN Scale Die Cast Reefer
K-76NN Scale Reefer
K761-RRRN Scale Boxcar (Scheme 2)
K762-RRRN Scale Wood-Sided Reefer
K763-RRRN Scale Stock Car
K764-RRRN Scale Modern Boxcar
K765-RRRN Scale Modern Boxcar
K-79NN Scale Boxcar (Scheme 1)
K-900NN KCC Premium
K-910NN KSS Boxcar

Intermodal Cars
Most intermodal items were numbered according to consecutive numbering schemes. The major exception was the DTTX cars. These were offered in a variety of combinations, in which the number was derived from both the car and the containers is carried. Each container was identified by the last two digits of its number. The combination of K-7793, the number of a DTTX car, and K-7830019, an Evergreen container was K-779319. These numbers were generally not catalogued, but were listed on wholesale and retail price sheets. They are not listed in this guide.

Key to Intermodal Number Examples:
CC = Container Number
N = Next Number for Railroad
NN = Next Number in Sequence
RRR = Railroad from Freight Railroad List

K-770NN TTAX Spine Car
K7740-NNN Railmate (Consecutive Numbers)
K774-RRRN Railmate (Similar to Freight Cars)
K-77NN DTTX w/ specific load or no load
K-77NNCC DTTX w/container number “CC”
K-78100NN 20 Foot ISO Tank
K-78200NN 40 Foot Smooth Sided Container
K-78300NN 40 Foot Ribbed Container
K-78600NN 48 Foot Smooth Sided Container

Below is the complete list of railroads and the three-digit number used in the K-LINE freight car numbering scheme.

Major Railroads
101 Alaska Railroad
103 Amtrak
105 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (Santa Fe)
107 Atlantic Coast Line
109 Baltimore & Ohio
111 Bangor & Aroostook
113 Boston & Maine
115 Burlington Northern
117 Burlington Northern Santa Fe
119 Canadian National
121 Canadian Pacific (CP)
123 Central of New Jersey
125 Chesapeake & Ohio
127 Chessie System
129 Chicago & Great Western
131 Chicago & North Western
133 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (Burlington Route)
135 Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon)
137 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific (Milwaukee Road)
139 Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Rock Island)
141 Conrail
143 CSX
145 Delaware & Hudson
147 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
149 Denver & Rio Grande Western
151 Erie
153 Erie-Lackawanna
155 Florida East Coast
157 Grand Trunk Western
159 Great Northern
161 Illinois Central
163 Kansas City Southern
164 Lackawanna
165 Lehigh Valley
167 Louisville & Nashville
169 Maintenance if Way
171 Missouri Pacific
173 Missouri-Kansas-Texas
175 New York Central
177 New York, Chicago & St. Louis (Nickel Plate)
179 New York, New Haven and Hartford
181 Norfolk & Western
183 Norfolk Southern
185 Northern Pacific
187 Penn Central
189 Pennsylvania
191 Railway Express Agency
193 Reading
195 Seaboard Air Line
197 Seaboard Coast Line
199 Soo Line
201 Southern
203 Southern Pacific
205 St. Louis San Francisco (Frisco)
207 St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt)
209 Texas & Pacific
211 Union Pacific
213 Wabash
215 Western Maryland
217 Western Pacific
219 TTX

Minor Railroads
301 Adirondack
302 Akron, Canton & Youngstown
303 Alabama, Tennessee & Northern
304 Algoma Central
305 Alton
306 Alton & Southern
307 Ann Arbor
308 Arkansas & Missouri
309 Atlanta & West Point
310 Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast
311 Atlantic & Danville
312 Atlantic & East Carolina
313 Atlantic & Yadkin
314 Auto-train
315 Baltimore & Annapolis
316 Bamberger Electric
317 Bessemer & Lake Erie
318 Boston & Albany
319 Buffalo & Susquehanna
320 Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh
321 Burlington-Rock Island
322 Butte, Anaconda & Pacific
323 Central of Georgia
324 Central Vermont
325 Chicago & Eastern Illinois
326 Chicago & Illinois Midland
327 Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee
328 Chicago Southshore & South Bend
329 Chicago, Attica & Southern
330 Chicago, Aurora & Elgin
331 Chicago, Central & Pacific
332 Chicago, Springfield & St. Louis
333 Cincinnati & Lake Erie
334 Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis
335 Clinchfield
336 Colorado & Southern
337 Copper Range
338 Copper River & Northwestern
339 Cumberland & Pennsylvania
340 Denver & Salt Lake
341 Detroit & Toledo Shore Line
342 Detroit, Toledo & Ironton
343 Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range
344 Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic
345 Durham & Southern
346 East Broad Top RR & Coal
347 East Tennessee & W North Carolina
348 Elgin, Joliet & Eastern
349 Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern
350 Fort Smith & Western
351 Fort Worth & Denver City
352 Georgia & Florida
353 Georgia Northern Railway
354 Georgia Railroad
355 Green Bay & Western
356 Gulf, Mobile & Northern
357 Gulf, Mobile & Ohio
358 Hartford & Slocomb
359 Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington
360 Huntingdon & Broad Top Mtn RR & Coal
361 Huron & Eastern
362 Illinois Terminal
363 Indiana Harbor Belt
364 Interstate
365 Jacksonville & Havana
366 Kansas City, Mexico & Orient
367 Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf
368 Lake Erie & Western
369 Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
370 Lake Superior & Ishpeming
371 Lehigh & Hudson
372 Lehigh & New England
373 Litchfield & Madison
374 Long Island
375 Louisiana Midland
376 Macon, Dublin & Savannah
377 Maine Central
378 Maryland Pennsylvania
379 Mexican Railroad
380 Michigan Central
381 Michigan Northern
382 Midland Terminal
383 Midland Valley
384 Minneapolis & St. Louis
385 Mississippi Central
386 Missouri & North Arkansas
387 Mobile & Ohio
388 Montana Rail Link
389 Montpelier & Wells River
390 Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
391 Nevada County
392 Nevada Northern
393 New Orleans Great Northern
394 New York, Ontario & Western
395 Newfoundland
396 Niagara Junction
397 Northern Alberta
398 Northwestern Pacific
399 Oahu Railway & Land
400 Ohio Central
401 Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka
402 Ontario Northland
403 Pacific Electric
404 Paducah & Louisville
405 Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
406 Pere Marquette
407 Piedmont & Northern
408 Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern
409 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
410 Pittsburgh & West Virginia
411 Quanah, Acme & Pacific
412 Quebec North Shore & Labrador
413 Railbox
414 Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
415 Rio Grande Southern
416 Rutland
417 Sacramento Northern
418 Salt Lake & Utah
419 San Diego & Arizona
420 Sandy River & Rangeley
421 Savannah & Atlanta
422 Seattle & North Coast
423 Spokane International
424 Spokane, Portland & Seattle
425 St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain
426 Sumter Valley
427 Susquehanna
428 Susquehanna & New York
429 Tallulah Falls
430 Temiscouata
431 Tennessee Central
432 Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia
433 Tidewater Southern
434 Timken
435 Toledo, Peoria & Western
436 Toledo, St. Louis & Western
437 Tonopah & Goldfield
438 Tonopah & Tidewater
439 Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo
440 Uintah
441 Ulster & Delaware
442 Unadilla Valley
443 Utah-Idaho Central
444 Virginia & Maryland
445 Virginia & Truckee
446 Virginian
447 Washington & Old Dominion
448 Washington, Idaho & Montana
449 Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern
450 Wellsville, Addison & Galeton
451 West Shore
452 Western Railway of Alabama
453 Wheeling & Lake Erie
454 White Pass & Yukon
455 Winston-Salem Southbound
456 Wisconsin Central
457 Wrightsville & Tennille

Licenses & Other
510 Coca-Cola
520 Hershey’s
530 Circus
540 Campbell’s
550 Nabisco
560 Anheuser-Busch
590 Napa Valley
600 Ford
740 K-LINE Xmas
742 50 State Quarters Series
748 Vintage Railroad Art
750 Kennecott Copper Corporation (KCC)
801 All Shortlines & Miscellaneous
901 Custom Production