Richard,
You have to remember, Intermodal is the new name given to ''piggy back'' starting in the 50's when there were no containers. Back then, they were mixed with pure freight trains, so it would depend on the era you want to model.
40's,50's era ''Piggy Back'' Trailers on Flat Car,(TOFC) in todays terms:
Frank
I have seen a number of posts and articles about the lack of interest in modeling railroading among those under the age of 50 (or 60, or 100). I was thinking about this as I drove past a train while in Oakland. As I passed it, I thought, "Oh, intermodal. Bummer." That got me to thinking, could this be part of the reason for the lack of interest? To me, a train has a variety of cars. I remember, as a kid, watching the boxcars, the tankers, the livestock cars. The variety made it interesting--a bunch of giant metal boxes full of Chinese merchandise, not so much.
Note: The intent of this thread is not to devovle into a discussion of the state of the "younger generation." It is intended only as an observation about variety in trains.
Richard