Leasing Companies for Railroad Equipment.

[Big Boy Forever]

Modelers here keep mentioning "Leasing Companies" as go betweens for different railroads.

I have some idea on how that works but what is the actual procedures and business activities that these RR leasing Companies.engage in throughout the RR Industry?

How paint schemes figure in also, as I've seen Class 1 paint schemes and logos on what some say is leased equipment not owned by the class 1 whose markings are on the leased equipment? (confusing).

 

[BRAKIE]

TTX covers a lot of your concerns:

http://www.ttx.com/AboutTTX/ttx-overview.aspx

 

 

[angelob6660]

I know a few more leasing companies in mind. GATX, SHPX, TILX, UTLX, ACFX, First union rail. 

[dehusman]

Paint schemes and logos don't mean anything. 

There are different types of leases.  A railroad or industry may have a long term lease on a car and as part of the lease agreement the lessee gets to paint the car with their reporting marks or paint scheme.  It will be virtually indistinguishable from a truly railroad or industry owned car except maybe a small stencil somewhere that the car is leased from whoever.  An industry (or railroad) might lease a car long term but not change the reporting marks or paint scheme (very common with covered hoppers and tank cars) from the lessor.  Cars (and engines) can be leased for years, months or maybe only one trip.

Very rough analogy is renting a vehicle.  You might go to an auto dealer and rent a car long term and put your reporting marks on it (your license plate), you might go to an airport and lease a car short term and they put their reporting marks on it (their license plate) or you might rent a truck short term with their logo and reporting marks (think U-Haul).

[Big Boy Forever]

dehusman

Paint schemes and logos don't mean anything. 

There are different types of leases.  A railroad or industry may have a long term lease on a car and as part of the lease agreement the lessee gets to paint the car with their reporting marks or paint scheme.  It will be virtually indistinguishable from a truly railroad or industry owned car except maybe a small stencil somewhere that the car is leased from whoever.  An industry (or railroad) might lease a car long term but not change the reporting marks or paint scheme (very common with covered hoppers and tank cars) from the lessor.  Cars (and engines) can be leased for years, months or maybe only one trip.

Very rough analogy is renting a vehicle.  You might go to an auto dealer and rent a car long term and put your reporting marks on it (your license plate), you might go to an airport and lease a car short term and they put their reporting marks on it (their license plate) or you might rent a truck short term with their logo and reporting marks (think U-Haul).

 

Good stuff !

So how many cars that we see everyday on the rails (ballpark guess), are owned by the class 1s and how many are leased?

Also, would a small shortline buy used cars from a class 1 or would they lease them too?

Small meaning 5 or 10 used- formerly Class 1 locomotive engines serving a few unique industries.

[dehusman]

Big Boy Forever

So how many cars that we see everyday on the rails (ballpark guess), are owned by the class 1s and how many are leased?

 

About 50-75% of the cars on today's trains (depending on location) have reporting marks ending in X.  100% of them are not owned directly by class 1 railroads and many of them are leased.  If you are modeling a generic railroad in teh current era, probably less than 25% of your cars would have reporting marks for a class 1 railroad.

 

Since a class 1 could lease cars and paint them with their road name and initials, there is no telling how many are leased.  Go to a library serach "Railway Age" magazine.  They have annual reports on car leasing.

 

Also, would a small shortline buy used cars from a class 1 or would they lease them too?

Yes.  Both.  Either.

Small meaning 5 or 10 used- formerly Class 1 locomotive engines serving a few unique industries.

If you have 5-10 engines you better be serving more than a few industries, you better be handling several hundred cars a day.

 

[Big Boy Forever]

dehusman

 

 

Small meaning 5 or 10 used- formerly Class 1 locomotive engines serving a few unique industries.

 

 

 

If you have 5-10 engines you better be serving more than a few industries, you better be handling several hundred cars a day.

 

 

Some are dummies, and I'm going to divide them between my fictional free lance shortline and the class 1s I'm going to interchange with; have not decided the ratio yet. that's why I said "5 or 10". It might be 3 or 7 or 4 and 6 I'm still deciding.

[BRAKIE]

Seems like car leasing is all the rage..I been seeing more and more leasers over the past two years to include mill gons.

However,both CSX and NS seems to have retain a strong home car presence with gons,covered hoppers and other like cars.

Still lease cars is plentiful.