What date is shown on the builder plate?
• Builder date — the date a locomotive is finished at the builder, as shown on the builder plate • Air brake date — the date a locomotive is officially ready for service, as reflected on the FRA blue card • Delivery date — the date a locomotive is delivered to the owning railroad • In-service date — the date a locomotive actually enters service • Retirement date — the date a locomotive is officially retired from service (or vacated) • Disposition date — the date a locomotive is sold • Off-property date — the date a locomotive actually leaves the railroad’s property For your rosters, always use the date as shown on the builder plate. But keep in mind that sometimes, the builder date and the delivery date can be different due to problems in financing and actual delivery schedules. One twist to this is that roster keepers have now documented that many modern GE locomotives have had their builder plates (actually decals) changed, with different build dates shown, i.e. Sep 1993 changed to A
