FREIGHT RAILROADS. ARE YOU HELPING TO KEEP THEM.

[Anonymous]

Do you buy products that move by rail.On the back of things you buy sometimes there is a 1 800 number you can call and ask about what you bought.I called IAMS pet foods and ask if they ship by train they said no so i said i will change to one that does.

[Anonymous]

a true freight enthusisat at heart. I think we need to look at national distrubution rather than local production.

[BRAKIE]

The thing most people including railfans don't know is alot of items ship by truck ends on a pig train.The freight bill will not say this.As far as some companies know they ship only by truck.This I know as I work in a warehouse and more then once I had a driver to tell me he picked it up at the rail yard and yet there is no mention of any rail connection! What is going on here? I am not speaking about containers either! When the trailers are shipped by rail the freght bill will state that fact.According to our shipping manager this is normal.He has also stated that it is cheaper to ship by rail then by truck.That is way he uses rail as much as he can.He gave me some figures I was shocked at the vast difference in shipping rates between truck and train.He also stated that is no guarantee that a truck will get the shipment there on time,none what so ever! I know this is true as I seen trucks 1-2 days late.I have seen loaded trailers sit in the pick up yard 2-4 days after the pick up date! Yes,we do load/unload boxcars (4-6 week).We also load pig trailers and containers.We have also loaded some Triple Crown!

[Anonymous]

I wonder if WAL-MART SHIPS TOFC.I know the new warehouse in NC will not have rail service.

[BRAKIE]

I have never seen Wal-Mart trailers on a pig train but it is possible that they do so.They do not need a rail siding to be served by rail not with TOFC and COFC.I have been told by truckers that some truck lines will send their "over flo" trailers by train in order to free up drivers for other "HOT"(just in time) loads.I guess what I should have said in my frist reply is How common is this? There is also a hidden thing that most people don't know.Lets say that Company A has only a 1/2 trailer load to ship and company B also has a 1/2 load.One truck will pick up both loads and will deliver them to company C & company D. I am told both companies will pay for a trailer load even though they loaded a 1/2 trailer.Perhaps a trucker could clear this up.I am not talking LCL loads here.Last week a trucker came into the warehouse with a split load(his words).The product that was to be unloaded at the warehouse where I work was on the front end. the other 1/2 load went to a different city and state.So I had to unload 1/2 truck that was not for the warehouse.

[Anonymous]

This thread makes it sound like the big freight railroads are endangered in an Amtrak sense. That is patently silly. The main reason that long haul truckers are winning back market share is the "big four" are having customer service issues partially due to merger related problems. This is their fault and they must address it.
Also,when the container ships tie up at Long Beach,Seattle etc.,the boxes full of Asia produced clothing,electronics,etc. move by doublestack train cross country to terminals where they are dropped onto trailers for the journey to regional WalMart distribution centers(but wait!,I hear some of you whining,WalMart only buys American!,read the labels my friends) where they are resorted for delivery to stores in that region by truck. Actually an efficient system.

[jsanchez]

Actually the railroads have been gaining back market share since the mergers are well behind them now, Walmart currently does use intermodal somewhat.( Sam Walton stongly disliked using railroads) Many of the trucking companies that contract for Wal-mart, Swift, Schneider, etc, are heavy intermodal users. And yes a lot of Wal-mart merchandise comes part of the way by rail in intermodal containers from the orient. I believe Wal-mart has been giving some business to BNSF lately also.
You think with the volume of frozen foods and goods that are sold at some Sam's clubs that maybe they could benefit by having some direct rail service, I find the stream of trucks coming out of some of these mega stores to be bad public relations and a negative impact to the surrounding communities.

James

[Anonymous]

I have seen new trailers delevered to somewhere for WAL-MART SAMS CLUB but they were new but not loaded.That is not enough for me to shop there.

[Anonymous]

Does BEVERLEY SAUSAGE from CHICAGO ILL.ride in boxcars.

[Anonymous]

Last year, Wal-Mart built a large distribution center in St. James Missouri. The site, over a hundred acres, was built on the North side of Interstate 44, inaccessable to a BNSF mainline less than a mile away on the south side of the highway. There was enough land on both sides of the highway to biuld it, but Wal-Mart chose not to serve the railroad, claiming that they wanted to ship completely by trucks. BNSF had a shipping contract with Wal-mart a few years ago. What happened?

[Anonymous]

I may be all wet on this, but I thought Wal-Mart used a train in their TV ad a year or so ago when they were making a point that they could sell for less because they were able to purchase in bulk. Does anyone else reacll this ad? I agree that this thread is a bit curious sugesting that the freight railroads need us to save their skins.

Ed

[thirdrail1]

Only when she can't hitch hike with a truck driver!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

awk one

[Anonymous]

I don't think that there is a department store in the country,bulk sales "club" or not,that get's direct rail service at the store level. Having worked in the wholesale distribution business dealing with the major chains I can say that Boxcar volumes and transit times do not fit their business profile(I'm talking about store deliveries,Warehouse/Distribution centers are a different ballgame.
Unlike the Amtrak situation, the health of the freight railroads is largely a matter of how they choose to compete for business,new innovations(intermodal,roadrailers etc.)rather than whether or not railfans are pulling for them or not. The one aspect where public opinion really matters is in total transportation policy,particularly in promoting rail over truck in congested corridors.

[Anonymous]

I seen a 60 FT boxcar with GOLD MEADOW markings on CSX going to the charlotte yard.They told me where it was going.It was going to a grocery warehouse.I always go to that store and buy that brand.