RoadRailer questions

[adrianspeeder]

I go to Rutherford Intermodal Terminal frequently as it is only five minutes away. It is a slick operation there. The trains come in quick and trucks take the trailers away suprisingly quickly. Now that i got a digital cam, i get some pics soon.

Adrianspeeder

[RKFarms]

Wabash National is a semi trailer manufacturer that has expanded and contracted with the trucking economy. It is one of our largest employers here in Tippecanoe Cty, Indiana. No connection with Wabash RR, the Wabash had been absorbed into NW long before Wabash Nationa started. They have built a lot of roadrailers, as well as more conventional van trailers. Its good for the local economy, but creates a lot of extra truck traffic in the south end of town (Lafayette) that bets very frustrating.
Pat

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DTomajko

Not that I know of. I think the Wabash reference is due to the fact that they are located in Lafayette, IN, which the railroad ran through. Wabash may also be a reference to the river that runs north & south through the state of Indiana and I think comes close to Lafayette. Good luck and stay safe.

I was just wondering because the "flag" they use as their logo very closely resembles the one that was sported on the side of many Wabash boxcars

http://www.branchline-trains.com/ezkits/yardmaster%20pics/wab.jpg

[DTomajko]

Not that I know of. I think the Wabash reference is due to the fact that they are located in Lafayette, IN, which the railroad ran through. Wabash may also be a reference to the river that runs north & south through the state of Indiana and I think comes close to Lafayette. Good luck and stay safe.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hugh Jampton

You will find your answers at:
http://www.wabashnational.com/products/roadrailer/

Has Wabash National got Anything at all to do with the former Wabash RR?

(curious)

[DTomajko]

There is Triple Crown Roadrailer service on NS using Fort Wayne,In, as an operating hub. Trains of roadrailers run over the former Wabash, NKP, and Conrail(PRR) lines to Kansas City, Detroit, & New Jersey. I believe there is also Triple Crown service to Atlanta and possibly Mexico via BNSF. Amtrak also utilizes roadrailers for mail and express on some of their trains,(I know the Three Rivers through Pa carries them). At Ft. Wayne, incoming trains of roadrailers are broken apart and sorted into new destinations,with a lot if the work taking place during the night. The Trains video about intermodal operations has a segment about Triple Crown & Wabash National.I think BNSF is also running roadrailers for Schneider National and Swift Transportation on the west coast and possibly into Chicago from the Pacific Northwest.I know that the Pittsburgh Intermodal Terminal receives reefer roadrailers for Alliance and Ice Cold Express,(a part of BNSF), loaded on conventional piggyback equipment from Chicago, and it's returned when empty back to Chicago. There is also a triple Crown terminal in Harrisburg,Pa,east of the Rutherford Intermodal Terminal. I believe there is also a terminal at the Bethintermodal Terminal in Bethlehem,Pa.,which is meant to serve New Jersey & New York markets without a costly and possibly dificult to access Jersey facility. Roadrailers are connected together by a tongue at the front of the unit that fits into a reciever at the rear of the trailer where a heavy pin is raised before accepting the tongue and dropped into place to engage the tongue. A special "ell" shaped handle about five feet long operates the pin/reciever device from the left rear of the trailer. The trailer also uses an air-ride suspension to raise the rear of the trailer to allow the placement of a special railroad truck that carries the rear of the unit. The trailer is lowered on its wheels until the truck is engaged and the air bags then are utilized to lift the trailer wheels clear of the rails. This entire process is shown on the Trains video and is a lot simpler than the above desciption sounds. There is also a trainline that is attached to the underside of the trailer, which connects to the truck-mounted brake system. The trailer brake & light systems are similar to all other tractor-trailers on the road.The trailer frame is specially reinforced during construction to withstand the strain of being operated as a train.They are much stronger than a conventional highway trailer or an intermodal trailer,which is also reinforced to withstand the stress of riding railcars & terminal handling by cranes or sideloaders.Good luck and stay safe.

[Hugh Jampton]

You will find your answers at:
http://www.wabashnational.com/products/roadrailer/

[Anonymous]

1. Is RoadRailer trailer just an ordinary highway trailer or a special built unit designed for road railing?
2. How do they couple to each other? via railroad bogie?
3. There is no railroad chassi in RoadRailer so the trailer have to have it's own chassi extremely strong in order to tolerate the entire trains's (trailers and bogies) weight. Is this statement correct?
4. From Question 3, no train chassi in this case, what about the electrical and pneumatical system that run from the locomotive to the last car? Does each trailer have special arrangement to accommodate those system?
5. Is RoadRailer widely operated? Is there any particularly in NY, NJ area?

Karn[:)]