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Intermodal bigger change than dieselization?

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That's a really good question. I don't think intermodal really had anything to do with getting rid of the caboose.....trains were already getting so long that the guys in the back could really only see perhpas the last 30 cars or so, unless they were on the straightest of track. I think technology was the biggest thing that eliminated the need for the cabooses (and the need for RRs to automate as much as possible).... I suppose that one could argue that wayside detectors and hot wheel detectors do a better job than a guy in a caboose could do with a pair of binoculars. Intermodal, on the other hand is a really really big deal. Every year the statistics have been amazing in regards to the growth of intermodal. Intermodal is definately the way of the future, perhaps it will one day even be the end of the box car (certainly in long haul situations). The biggest deal in regards to intermodal is the seemless transfer of goods from train to boat to truck and back again. This not only saves time and money, but allows trucks and trains to team up and get the product to the destination faster, a better result for the customer in the long run. It seems to me intermodal will soon be the #1 business for the RRs, and at the moment I can't see too much getting in it's way.
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