Hi!

Just got back from a 3600 mile auto trip, from Houston to San Diego, to the Grand Canyon, to Chama, to Taos, and back home.   Saw the San Diego station, Cajon, the Williams/Grand Canyon train, Chama narrow gauge, and several small town refurbished stations & railcars.  Most of it I have seen before, but all was worth another trip.

But you know what absolutely amazed me?  Driving along Interstate 10 and 8 going from Texas to San Diego, and Route 40 (off and on) from central California to Texas, we saw train after train after train..........

The ones along the southern borders were of course Union Pacific  (formerly SP) and they were double stack container trains, one after another, - all with 100 plus cars.  The ones I counted were from 130 to 148 cars, typically pulled by three locos with one or two pushers.  These were the eastbounds, of course loaded with goods from overseas.  The westbounds had fewer locos, but were probably mostly empty.

Along route 40 it was the same thing, only these were BNSF trains, but they came with very rapid frequency.  Ha, I actually did see an honest to goodness "freight train", with boxcars, flats, covered and open hoppers, etc., - with NO containers. 

My wife commented that the railroads were obviously keeping a whole lot of trucks off the highways, and thus making traffic that much lighter.

I'm sure none of the above is news to most of you, and it really wasn't to me either.  But actually seeing "train after train after train" of containers really puts the thing into perspective.

ENJOY,