If an industry ships and receives products by rail, can they use the same rail car to ship outbound items after unloading the inbound items?
Thanks for any info.
Eric
It would depend on that the inbound and outpound products are. You would not want to load a tank car with say corn oil when a hazardous material was the inbound product. Even if the car is cleaned it would need a residue placard for the hazardous material. There are linings for tank cars such as lead. You would not put an edible material in a car that does not have the lining designated for edible commodities.
We serve a paper company or two that will reload boxcars with scrap paper. But by contract, they have to use system-owned cars. So either a home road car, or a TBOX variant.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
It also depends if the car needs to be cleaned.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Thank you all. I was thinking along the lines of boxcars and wondered if there were rules that applied. Zugmann gave the answer to that question. Again, thank you all!
Eric P.
assuming the same car can be used, as is, would the RR that services that industry use that car which is likely to be from a foreign RR or replace it with a car owned by the RR?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
If the industry wanted to use the car that they received, I doubt the railroad serving the industry would make them give it back after they unloaded and make them use a car from their railroad, as it would cause a delay for the industry. Do that enough, and they might choose to ship by truck instead.
wjstixIf the industry wanted to use the car that they received, I doubt the railroad serving the industry would make them give it back after they unloaded and make them use a car from their railroad, as it would cause a delay for the industry. Do that enough, and they might choose to ship by truck instead.
I don't know how the contracts work, but that's how these particular industries I serve work. Still shipping by rail, so I guess it's beneficial for both parties.
So BNSF delivers a regular CSX loaded boxcar to an industry in Seattle. The industry unloads it, and says we have an outgoing load we could load into this boxcar. The railroad says no, once the car is empty, we take it away and you wait while we get one of our boxcars for your outgoing load?
I guess it all depends on the contracts the shippers have with the carriers or car owners/lessors, or whatever. I'm not privy to the details.
I really have no interest in any sort of debate here.
If anything - it's a great reason to buy more boxcars for your model RR.
wjstixSo BNSF delivers a regular CSX loaded boxcar to an industry in Seattle. The industry unloads it, and says we have an outgoing load we could load into this boxcar. The railroad says no, once the car is empty, we take it away and you wait while we get one of our boxcars for your outgoing load?
Maybe.
Fact is the industry doesn't own the boxcar, it's not their property to load. They can ask the railroad if they can reload that boxcar and the railroad might say yes. Or the railroad might say no.
Maybe the car is due an air brake inspection.
Maybe the car has a mechanical defect that will be repaired after the car has been emptied.
Maybe boxcars are in short supply and another industry has been waiting a week for an empty boxcar and this car was promised to the other industry.
Maybe the tariff for the rate requires shipping in a system car.
Maybe there is a car service order out that that type of CSX car has to be returned to the CSX without reloading.
Lots of things that could be in play. If an industry wants to reload a boxcar, they need to ask the railroad. Most likely the railroad will say OK, but there are situations where the railroad might say no.