I believe the B&M Arrow 'herald' was introduced in 1913, at least on cabooses, but it did not appear on freight cars constructed that year. Initially, it had the word "Railroad" located at the bottom, but in 1915, that was struck from the design. By approximately 1922, the B&M ended the application of it, changing to a simple three-line roadname on house cars and one-line roadname on other cars, similar to the previous austere pattern in use throughout the aughts and early teens. I also understand the arrow itself to have been red, but I'd have to refer back to some drawings before I could say I was certain.

There were other lettering changes taking place during this period on the B&M. Sometime after 1913, the road reduced the size of its one-line roadname from 9" to 7" (car numbers remained 7",) and then about 1916, the railroad ended the application of this one-line roadname (on all cars) in favor of B.& M. reporting marks on the car side (note periods.) There is a distinct possibility this latter change occurred simultaneously with the introduction of the Arrow herald on freight cars, but I cannot confirm this. By 1919, lines were introduced above and below the reporting marks, and in 1920, the use of periods in the marks was discontinued. The size of the reporting marks increased to 9" at the time of the three-line introduction ~1922.

Earl Tuson