WHERE ARE THE VERY HI-CUBE AUTO RACKERS?

[spbed]

Run by the BNSF. Have not seen them in months. Have they been pulled from service for defects? When I saw them they looked very new to me. Saw them last year at Colton & in the Cajon Pass as well as on the Ft. Madison webcam. [?]

[spbed]

I may have answered my own question here. When I was in the Cajon pass @ Sullivans curve there was a BNSF crew truck their. So I started speaking to the BNSF employee & as one of those very hi-cube auto rackers came by I asked him if he knew why they were built. He informed me they were made to carry 3 tiers of SUVs or trucks like Dodge Rams or Ford 150 as a example. Now with gas prices so hi & SUVs & lite trucks being such gas guzzlers they may not be now in demand as they were when the BNSF & KCS ordered the cars. Those are the only 2 RR markings I saw of this type car. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by spbed

Run by the BNSF. Have not seen them in months. Have they been pulled from service for defects? When I saw them they looked very new to me. Saw them last year at Colton & in the Cajon Pass as well as on the Ft. Madison webcam. [?]

[espeefoamer]

Do you mean the two unit articulated Auto Max cars?I have also seen these lettered for CSX and KCS.I haven't seen these for quite some time,either.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Do you mean like the one in the foreground in this photo? I don't think I have ever seen a real one in service. By the way, these are O scale.

[Anonymous]

the tallest ones are the 20 foot 2 inchers and they seem to have special routes for clearance reasons. the all yellow articulated ones are very common around indy and especially around cincy. those white bn or csx kcs auto maxes were goin in and out of honda in marysville alot but i haven't seen those but i may be missing em out there

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Do you mean like the one in the foreground in this photo? I don't think I have ever seen a real one in service. By the way, these are O scale.

The O scale model shown is of the Trinity articulated auto carrier, which only has two tiers for SUVs. The AutoMax made by Greenbrier.....

http://www.gbrx.com/page.php?view=AUTO_MAX

....is a two unit articulated auto carrier that incoporates the well car concept with the auto rack. The well design allows for three tiers of SUVs.

Greenbrier seems to have the lead on innovative railcar designs. In addition to the AutoMax, they also have the drop deck center beam (there's a partial photo on page 35 of the April 2005 TRAINS in the article entitled "Freight Car Catch-22"), and in a few years we might actually see the stack n' half, and possibly an articulated box car.

Hmmm, maybe we should start a new thread on new railcar designs....

[spbed]

Yes those are the ones. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

Do you mean the two unit articulated Auto Max cars?I have also seen these lettered for CSX and KCS.I haven't seen these for quite some time,either.

[spbed]

They read auto-max on them. The question is where are they? [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Do you mean like the one in the foreground in this photo? I don't think I have ever seen a real one in service. By the way, these are O scale.

[spbed]

Yes it those 20' 2" ones. I saw them live at the Cajon pass. I also saw them on the Ft. Madison webcam. Now I would say several months have gone by & nary one of them on the FM webcam. Makes me wonder if they are still needed or were pulled from service for some kind of defect. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bigchief

the tallest ones are the 20 foot 2 inchers and they seem to have special routes for clearance reasons. the all yellow articulated ones are very common around indy and especially around cincy. those white bn or csx kcs auto maxes were goin in and out of honda in marysville alot but i haven't seen those but i may be missing em out there

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks guys, interesting stuff. At first I thought 20' 2" sounded really tall, but aren't double stacked containers even taller?

[Anonymous]

i'm not sure but 20'2" is the tallest normal stuff we run auto racks and double stacks other than that it would be a high and wide. we do have to clearance buearu paper work to move em

[spbed]

No the highest S/S line containers are 9'6". You can do the math & when you consider the bottom one is being dropped into a well making the combined height even lower then the 20'2" of those rackers for SUVs. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bigchief

i'm not sure but 20'2" is the tallest normal stuff we run auto racks and double stacks other than that it would be a high and wide. we do have to clearance buearu paper work to move em

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Just yesterday I noticed KCS articulated Auto-Maxes on the IHB at 79th St, about 2 miles south of Argo. Gibson Yard on the IHB serves as an auto-rack hub, so they aren't too unusual out here.

[spbed]

Thanks but I saw lots of them in the Cajon pass & on the Ft. Madison webcam & at least when I have been watching they have completely disappeared from the BNSF transco line. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CSSHEGEWISCH

Just yesterday I noticed KCS articulated Auto-Maxes on the IHB at 79th St, about 2 miles south of Argo. Gibson Yard on the IHB serves as an auto-rack hub, so they aren't too unusual out here.

[spbed]

This AM a short while ago a BNSF entire train of them maybe 80/100 cars was moving WB from Ft. Madison. I would if they were being positioned for repair or were just repaired & were being placed back into service.

[Glen Ellyn]

I see them when ever I see a car carrying train.

[spbed]

Guess you are luckier then me as today was the 1st day they reappeared on the Ft. Madison cam in some considerable period of time. [:)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Glen Ellyn

I see them when ever I see a car carrying train.