A company, Pro-Tech has developed a collapsible container meant to be used in autoracks for backhaul moves. What does everyone think?
https://www.railwayage.com/intermodal/pro-tech-backhauls-for-autoracks/
https://vimeo.com/504876914
wasdA company, Pro-Tech has developed a collapsible container meant to be used in autoracks for backhaul moves. What does everyone think? https://www.railwayage.com/intermodal/pro-tech-backhauls-for-autoracks/ https://vimeo.com/504876914
Autoracks are moved in their own distribution sphere. The realtity, at least as of the time I retired in 2016, they were basically used as a 'free runner' pool amongst all the shippers of finished automotive products. While a shipment of vehicles may move from Flint to Twin Oaks, PA (Philadelphia on CSX), when the car is made empty it can be moved to virtually any other loading facility, not just Flint.
Loading those containers onto autoracks would slow down their movement as most likely the would not pick up the containers at the automotive unloading facility and would have to to to someplace else to be loaded. Once loaded they would have to go a unloading facility for the containers and then move on to a location for their automotive loading.
Looks like a solution in search of a problem.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD wasd A company, Pro-Tech has developed a collapsible container meant to be used in autoracks for backhaul moves. What does everyone think? https://www.railwayage.com/intermodal/pro-tech-backhauls-for-autoracks/ https://vimeo.com/504876914 Autoracks are moved in their own distribution sphere. The realtity, at least as of the time I retired in 2016, they were basically used as a 'free runner' pool amongst all the shippers of finished automotive products. While a shipment of vehicles may move from Flint to Twin Oaks, PA (Philadelphia on CSX), when the car is made empty it can be moved to virtually any other loading facility, not just Flint. Loading those containers onto autoracks would slow down their movement as most likely the would not pick up the containers at the automotive unloading facility and would have to to to someplace else to be loaded. Once loaded they would have to go a unloading facility for the containers and then move on to a location for their automotive loading. Looks like a solution in search of a problem.
wasd A company, Pro-Tech has developed a collapsible container meant to be used in autoracks for backhaul moves. What does everyone think? https://www.railwayage.com/intermodal/pro-tech-backhauls-for-autoracks/ https://vimeo.com/504876914
As Balt mentioned this would eat up utilization of autoracks which are in pool service to the Big 3 and others.. Not to mention repositioning of racks to load these containers would eat up alot of time. Whoever wrote this article must have never heard of intermodal. Which most autoparts today ride in stack service.
BaltACDLooks like a solution in search of a problem.
On the other hand, were we to pass into the wonderful world of self-delivering autonomous vehicles...there's something to be said for a M&E vehicle on some sort of autonomous chassis (stackable for any nonrevenue backhaul, if you want to be wedded to 'collapsible') that drives to the loading facility, enters the queue for loading into autoracks, goes 'wherever' along with the automobiles, drives itself to destination/loading points/distribution centers/regional centers or warehouses or private food banks or whatever; it can drive arould as desired and then be loaded into returning empty autoracks just as here...
This is the sort of thing that ttrraaffiicc ought to see as an interesting intermodal opportunity for 'safe' use of early autonomous technology. But he won't get past the rail-centric focus on long-distance facilitation.
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