Note the "Built" date: 2-36. This shows that the railroads don't always throw away something old.
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I caught this scale test car in Breckenridge, MN, in April 2010, and it sure has gotten a new paint job! The previous paint was to stampy
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If this is a new paint job, one would think the person responsible for stenciling this car would have eliminated the "handle ahead of caboose" stencil. Scale test cars, such as these, are equipped with air hoses and a brake pipe (with angle cocks), but they do not have air brake equipment (i.e., control valve, brake shoes, reservoirs). These cars must always be handled on the rear of a train, with at least one rail car behind it, for "break-in-to" protection. If this car should come uncoupled (or suffer a failed knuckle), emergency braking would be provided by the car trailing the scale test car.
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