"Re"?

[Nick_Burman]

What does the katakana レ"Re" next to freight train numbers indicate?

 

Cheers NB

[David]

If it's on the left/top side it means that it's a class of refrigerator car (and should likely be followed by sa, mu or one of the other katakana used to indicate weight capacity). Or which number are we talking about on the car?

 

edit, example pic from HS: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10088196a4/20/4

 

Above the number 10021 you can see re (レ) and sa (サ), meaning this is a refrigerator with a loading weight of 20 - 24 tons.

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks David, but I mean in freight train numbers, such as 7688レ(for instance - the train number is ficticious).

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

The 「レ」 (equivalent for hiragana 「れ」 in 「れっしゃ」) is used to indicate locomotive hauled trains, both freight and passenger.  Back when there were many more loco-hauled passenger trains (and freight too, for that matter) this designation was quite common.

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks BB. In the case of the Super Rail Cargo container MU train, would its train numbers get a "M" prefix like the suburban trains?

 

Also, does that「レ」actually mean anything (i.e., part of a word) when in the train number?

 

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

"Re" is from "ressha" (train).  Interestingly, the designation on this train is "re" (50re, 51re), though it is not technically loco-hauled.  Perhaps to prevent confusion with a passenger EMU train.