The question to ask is, what happened to the industries that once shipped via boxcar. The boxcar has gone the way of the caboose, interlocking tower, agency station, coaling tower and water plug, because the most of the industry that relied on it no longer exists in America. Most boxcar traffic today moves between shippers whom are able to generate and warehouse large volumes of cargo that is not time sensitive, cumbersome, and of lower value versus weight. Think of a paper mill. As stated elsewhere in this post, most shippers today try to eliminate the warehousing portion of the equation because storing inventory costs money. Most of todays just-in-time operations depend on a reliable, constant stream of freight. If a trucker rolls into town with your shipment, he wants to get it to your door as soon as possible, be it 3PM or 3AM. If your shipment is in a boxcar, and there is a yard nearby, it still may take up to 24 hours for it to get to your door-if you still have a siding! Railroading has become more and more like a conveyor belt to stay competitive. Just consider, in addition to the unit coal and grain trains we are so familiar with, we now have unit ethanol, and crude oil trains, which all move from one shipper , to one receiver, which is just what the railroads want. Boxcars are out there but they are definitely in the shadow of the double stack container train. Anyone remember the old piggyback trailer trains?
NHTX Boxcars are out there but they are definitely in the shadow of the double stack container train. Anyone remember the old piggyback trailer trains?
The railroads weekly performance report tells a different story if one would care to check.. I still see piggyback cars on NS but,those seem to be getting fewer each year..
Larry
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BRAKIERandy,A 5 unit well car is counted as one car since only the end platforms has numbers while the center platforms does not.
Sometimes. On the UP they count each platform as a car. That's because the UP tracks which containers are on which platforms. One of the reasons they do that is for "blowover" speed. That is the wind speed at which a railroad car will "blow over". To figure that they need to know how the empty containers are distributed on the cars. If you count a 5 pack as 1 car then you can't track which box is on which platform.
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NHTX The question to ask is, what happened to the industries that once shipped via boxcar.
Back in the 1900's a 20 car boxcar was lucky if it carried 10 tons of freight. That was because there were no trucks. Undoubtedly, the smaller and more time sensitive shipments have gone to intermodal or turck. But there still are the shipments that make more sense in a boxcar. Heavy or large quantity shipments to a central or large manufacturing facility are still the bread and butter of boxcars. Paper, auto parts, ingots, heavy palletized shipments all still go by boxcar.
Most of todays just-in-time operations depend on a reliable, constant stream of freight. If a trucker rolls into town with your shipment, he wants to get it to your door as soon as possible, be it 3PM or 3AM. If your shipment is in a boxcar, and there is a yard nearby, it still may take up to 24 hours for it to get to your door-if you still have a siding!
Maybe. If the trucker shows up at 3am and your loading dock only operates first shift then you paid a lot of money for service you didn't need. Not all commodities need overnight service. Most industries need consistent service, not necessarily the fastest service. If you are serving a warehouse their is going to be dwell at the recieving end in any case.
Another big driver of containerization is globalization. Since an intermodal container can easily be shipped overseas it is more seamless than boxcars. That doesn't necessarily mean its more efficient from a space or square footage basis.
For example the UP offers a service for Asian plastic pellet consumers where they can have their plastic sent to Dallas (from Gulf Coast producers) where it is palletized and loaded into containers (Dallas has a lot of excess containers) and put on intermodal trains directly to the docks on the West Coast. Its not a boxcar move, but it is an example of how global shipping has impacted the boxcar.
dehusman BRAKIE Randy,A 5 unit well car is counted as one car since only the end platforms has numbers while the center platforms does not. Sometimes. On the UP they count each platform as a car. That's because the UP tracks which containers are on which platforms. One of the reasons they do that is for "blowover" speed. That is the wind speed at which a railroad car will "blow over". To figure that they need to know how the empty containers are distributed on the cars. If you count a 5 pack as 1 car then you can't track which box is on which platform.
BRAKIE Randy,A 5 unit well car is counted as one car since only the end platforms has numbers while the center platforms does not.
A 5 unit well car has numbers on the end platforms while the middle platforms has a letter at least the ones I've seen on the CSX and NS does..
You can still count it as one car since there is couplers on the end platforms while the middle platforms has a drawl bar. Maybe its a railroad specific thing?
All railroads track the container/trailers by their number and the number of the platform they are loaded on..This keeps the shippers/receivers happy especially UPS..
dehusmanMaybe. If the trucker shows up at 3am and your loading dock only operates first shift then you paid a lot of money for service you didn't need. Not all commodities need overnight service. Most industries need consistent service, not necessarily the fastest service. If you are serving a warehouse their is going to be dwell at the receiving end in any case.
And you may be stuck with a detention fee-not always but,there are drivers that likes that option. While working as a forklift operator in a warehouse I almost got into a fight with a mouthy driver over that fee even though the bill plainly stated there was no unloading between 11 pm-7am. He got there after the 10:30 pm cut off time.
BTW.We received 6-8 boxcars a week.
http://www.railroadpm.org/
This site (I think the one Brakie used) has the weekly performance of the railroads. They have a definitions page that applies to this listing only. It may not be how individual railroads count cars/platforms for their own need.
They use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group.
Jeff
A branchline runs through my little burg of Utica, OH on the way to the grain elevators in Mt. Vernon. A daily train generally consists of 8-10 boxcars loaded with grain. Originally a B&O branch that extended all the way to northern Ohio, more recently it was part of the Ohio Central which was purchased by the Genesee and Wyoming a few years back. They were considering abandoning the entire branch but the state gave them some money to upgrade the track to keep it operational. They figured that little branchline keeps about 500 trucks a year off Ohio Route 13 so the state figured it was worth the expenditure.
jeffhergertThey use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group. Jeff
Yes,Reefers are included but,as you may know there are far more boxcars then reefers.
As a side note should you visit Fostoria you will see a reefer train from California. Some times it has U.P power.
BRAKIE jeffhergert They use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group. Jeff Yes,Reefers are included but,as you may know there are far more boxcars then reefers. As a side note should you visit Fostoria you will see a reefer train from California. Some times it has U.P power.
jeffhergert They use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group. Jeff
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The designation have been revised over the years, with definations changed, classes added or deleated and there appear to be some cars that could fit in more than one class. Basically Reefers "R", Boxcars "X" Mechanical reefers RP Insulated boxcars have plugdoors and resemble reefers in appearance are "XI" but not all (probably most) plugdoor boxcars cars are not insulated.
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DSchmitt jeffhergert They use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group. Jeff http://www.nakina.net/other/aartype.html The designation have been revised over the years, with definations changed, classes added or deleated and there appear to be some cars that could fit in more than one class. Basically Reefers "R", Boxcars "X" Mechanical reefers RP Insulated boxcars have plugdoors and resemble reefers in appearance are "XI" but not all (probably most) plugdoor boxcars cars are not insulated.
http://www.railcartracking.com/aar-car-type-codes-explained-resources-2/
The code on this site seems to be the one used on the weekly reporting site. The reporting site for box cars uses A, B, and R. A is for equipped box cars (load restraining devices, etc.) B is for unequipped box cars and R is for Refrigerator cars. It seems like a basic category code.
ericsp BRAKIE jeffhergert They use a basic AAR Mechanical code designation for this reporting. Looking at the codes listed for box cars, I think they group mechanical refrigerator cars in the box car group. Jeff Yes,Reefers are included but,as you may know there are far more boxcars then reefers. As a side note should you visit Fostoria you will see a reefer train from California. Some times it has U.P power. If you are referring to the Railex trains, the last I heard they were combining the WA and CA trains at Green River, WY.
The symbol across Iowa reflects a Cheyenne originating station. The only Z train on this route that has no intermodal on it. They have been filling it out with regular box cars that aren't part of the Railex train lately. From what I've recently read, UP has bought the Railex company.