SeeYou190I could tell you stories about how munitions loads are escorted, but that is well beyond the scope of the Model Railroader forums.
I did several weapons transport trips along with a lot of stuff for NASA over the years and some really big currency transfers. I had to do these myself.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANThe truck had to have two drivers and one had to stay with the truck at all times at rest breaks.
I guess you were hauling something more important that Rapido electric toy trains.
I could tell you stories about how munitions loads are escorted, but that is well beyond the scope of the Model Railroader forums.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I worked logistics for the Federal Government and had my own seal. If it was really sensitive I did the driving, if it was of less importance I sealed the trailer and it was contracted out to a carefully screened trucking company.
The truck had to have two drivers and one had to stay with the truck at all times at rest breaks. A couple of times the seal was broken upon arrival and those two truckers spent some long hours with the RCMP whom I immediately called. Plus they were looking for new jobs as they were immediately let go from the companies. Stay with the truck, means stay with the truck.
Water Level RouteMost (all?) semi-trailers don't have GPS. Pretty easy to swap a plate.
Completely correct. The only trailers I have ever seen with GPS locators haul munitions or hazardous waste. A Geo-Location system is much more complicated and expensive than navigation aid GPS. What most truck companies use for truck location is actually a cellular device carried by the driver. Driver location is much more important that trailer location. Theoretically, they should be pretty close to one another anyway.
To the trucking company, the driver and tractor are the assets. Those are what they are concerned about. The trailer lading is an insured concern of the customer.
Stealing trailers is pretty easy, and they don't drive them far enough for plate scanning to be a concern. A few miles to a secluded area. Disconnect, open the back, load a few items into a box truck, and disappear.
They don't go through the whole trailer. That is how you get caught.
It happens all the time.
So many times when a trailer is found, the police catch scavengers that show up to see what is left. The actual thieves only have the trailer for a very short time.
It is not unusual or suspicious to see items being transfered from one trailer to another, so this happening in broad daylight does not even get much police attention. Nearly all the time it is completely legitimate.
LastspikemikeFigure this out. Why put all this automated equipment in every patrol car used for road or highway patrol?
To assist in locating violent criminals with arrest warrants? The police have little interest in non-violent heists of insured goods. Public safety is a much higher priority.
Thefts are investigated after the fact by a special force of the Highway Patrol that gather evidence and then catch the offenders off guard.
Most (all?) semi-trailers don't have GPS. Pretty easy to swap a plate. Even if they didn't, do you know how many van trailers are on the highways? Police would run themselves ragged trying to get close enough behind each one to grab plate info. They have too many other things to be doing at the same time.
Totally get not using the date stickers anymore. Unless the car is parked so you can get close enough to read it, the only tell is the color, and depending on what month the renewal is due it really is only obvious if a color is two years old.
Mike
ATLANTIC CENTRALHigh jackings and trailer thefts became such a problem that various security measures were put in place to conceal the info that might identify the shipment,
One of several reasons you don't see these any more:
Miller Beer Coming To You, 1973 by Rick Purdue, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
From Rapido on Facebook:
Hi guys,
We're relieved to report that the stolen trailer containing our shipment of HO scale Procor tank cars and N scale CP Rail FP9A diesels has been located! Rapido Francis and Dave were able to inspect the pallets this afternoon and with virtually no damage these models will continue on their way to the respective distributors in the USA.
All of us here at Rapido wanted to thank you for your kind wishes and for your offers of help! We really appreciate it and are thankful for all the support from the amazing model railroading community!
Best regards,Jordan and the Rapido team.
Alton Junction
ATLANTIC CENTRALOne of the highest value loads they carried was Polariod instant camera film, a 40' van leaving the Polaroid factory was worth a LOT of money.
I have a friend that is in the business of insuring loads in trailers. He had a chart in his office showing what a trailer load of different commodities was worth.
I remember being impressed by cranberries. A load of cranberries is worth A LOT of money! Much more than oranges or strawberries!
I wish I remembered more.
Back in the 1970's my father was a regional manager for CAROLINA FREIGHT which was at the time the largest trucking company east of the Mississippi.
One of the highest value loads they carried was Polariod instant camera film, a 40' van leaving the Polaroid factory was worth a LOT of money. High jackings and trailer thefts became such a problem that various security measures were put in place to conceal the info that might identify the shipment, including taking the load just picked up to the local terminal and transfering the load into the building for the night, then loading it onto a different trailer right before it was scheduled to leave.
And using coded descriptions on the bill of lading so only a few people knew what the shipment was.
Sheldon
It is very good that Rapido was able to reclaim possession of their property.
Stealing a 53 foot dry van trailer is exceptionally easy to do if it is not attached to a highway tractor. There are no effective anti-theft items on these, and most have no distinctive markings.
Once it is gone, it is just another unimpressive white dry van rolling down the road. Very difficult to catch.
We had one that was stolen out of our lot in the middle of the day. The guys pulled up to it, hooked up, attached the air lines, retracted the landing gear, and disappeared. They did not act suspicious, so we all just thought it was an owner's agent with a rented tractor. The guy even got out of the cab with a piece of paper and inspected the trailer before he hooked up.
They took it because the refrigeration unit was running, so they assumed it was full.
All it had was a couple of cases of Russel Stover candy on board.
That would be predictable. They are hoping to find boxes labelled SONY or Apple. Find a shipment of 1000 iphones and Christmas just came early. They are looking for something they can sell quick and make a tidy sum in the process.
From a post in another forum, it sounds like the trailer has been recovered. And while much of the other contents were stolen, the thieves didn't know what to do with the trains and left them behind.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Why are you guys assuming it's a sea container, and that the entire container is filled with Rapido?
It's not Rapido's shipment from China. It's shipments FROM Rapido to 2 of its US dealers. Consolidated LTL in a trucking company's trailer with other things, not just model trains.
If it was a sea can on a flat bed, I can understand why it went missing. The perps didn't care about the contents. SEA CANS, themselves, are so scarce that it was the prize.
I hate to see such things happen, especially to our small hobby, and of course to our Canadian pride, Rapido. Some trucking firm's insurance is gonna have to dig deep.
I suspect Rapidos container was only a 20' and one of two on the trailer, so the scumbags may have been after the other container that had bars gold-pressed-latinum in it.
Something like this, but with a different type of trailer of course.
BATMAN Some talk going on around some of the FB sites that a Rapido Trains trailer has been stolen. It contained HO Procar tank cars and N scale FP9 locomotives. So far nothing from Rapido on this matter as far as I can see.
Some talk going on around some of the FB sites that a Rapido Trains trailer has been stolen. It contained HO Procar tank cars and N scale FP9 locomotives. So far nothing from Rapido on this matter as far as I can see.
I'm surprised you didn't check Twitter that's where I read about (17 hours ago). I checked this morning for a funny post but ran into serious situation.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
It was the trucking carrier's truck and trailer, not one specifically for Rapido. I'm sure that the shipment of Rapido product to two US dealers is not the whole truck and there was a lot of other US less-than-truckload shipments in there. I'm sure they got something they can "fence" easily, and the Rapido stuff might be found dumped in a ditch somewhere if they can't unload something so specific.
But model RR shops and dealers should be on the lookout for someone suspiciously trying to unload a bunch of "surplus" brand-new Rapido stock.
Reminds me of the contrail gang that stole at least a hundred trailers full of electronics out of conrail intermodal yards.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
It's just your regular 40 or 53 ft cargo trailer, the kind you see on the highways everyday. Nothing special or unusual.
Thanks, Rich
What confused me was the reference to "Rapido's Trailer" as I've seen the one used by Scale Trains and the like thinking it was something custom-made that Jason and crew hauled to train shows and such.
gmpullman BATMAN Rapido Trains trailer has been stolen. Was it a type of trailer that I see dealers towing to train shows (Wells Cargo type) or are we talking about a commercial common carrier's shipping container? My computer doesn't connect to this facebook thing. Cheers, Ed
BATMAN Rapido Trains trailer has been stolen.
Was it a type of trailer that I see dealers towing to train shows (Wells Cargo type) or are we talking about a commercial common carrier's shipping container?
My computer doesn't connect to this facebook thing.
Cheers, Ed
We’ve got some unfortunate news to report this afternoon regarding the shipment of HO scale Procor tank cars and N scale CP FP9A locomotives to two of our US distributors. We have just been informed by our carrier that a trailer containing these shipments destined for the US was stolen from a local trucking yard sometime in the last couple of days and is still missing as of this afternoon. An investigation has been launched, but as of now we don’t know where these shipments are and whether or not they will be recovered.
While it is believed the models were stolen here in Canada, it’s possible they could appear in the US as well and that the thieves may try and sell the product to either a dealer or otherwise sometime in the near future.
With that in mind, we’re asking dealers and the modeling community to please keep a lookout for any suspicious offers or shipments of these models and please contact police should anything come about.
Thank you for your help.
Regards,Jordan and the Rapido team.
BATMANRapido Trains trailer has been stolen.
If they are lucky, the trailer will be found abandoned somewhere, with that portion of the load intact. The perps are looking for something they can sell quickly, like iPhones or televisions.
They just issued a news release on their FB page.
Jason posted about it on TrainOrders.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983