Who owns the most revenue rail cars now? Do the railroad companies own the most cars,or do the rail car lessors own the most cars? I see a lot of cars of all types with "X" as the last letter in their reporting marks. Any ideas?
overall Who owns the most revenue rail cars now? Do the railroad companies own the most cars,or do the rail car lessors own the most cars? I see a lot of cars of all types with "X" as the last letter in their reporting marks. Any ideas?
At one point about 20 years ago GE owned the single largest group of rail cars. At that time more that half of the rail car fleet was owned by non railroad entities. I haven't seen any recent statistics. Remember not all lease cars have an X in the reporting marks. Many cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks.
BuslistMany cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks.
I would argue that this is akin to an individual leasing an automobile - it's still "your" car.
There was a time when the railroads owned the vast majority of railcars. Is the number of "X" cars seen these days an indication that railroads are slowly getting out of the car ownership business?
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Buslist Many cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks. I would argue that this is akin to an individual leasing an automobile - it's still "your" car.
Buslist Many cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks.
Argue all you want the fact is you don't OWN the car which was the question. The stewardship of the car is recognized by it carrying the railroads reporting marks.
Currently, about 35-40% of the freight cars are railroad controlled. The rest are non-railroad controlled. These are cars owned by shippers, leased by shippers, or simply private cars available for shipper use.
If you want more specifics, NS and BNSF both have about 80,000 rail cars, with UP and CSX not far behind.
On the private side, TTX has about 200,000 cars with GE having about 140,000 and CIT and GATX with about 100,000 each. Union Tank Car and Trinity car each have about 70,000 cars. These are all companies that lease cars and the numbers keep changing as they buy and sell entire fleets or series of cars. Actual shippers have a maximum of less than 20,000 cars, but there are lots of these cars.
bartman-tnCurrently, about 35-40% of the freight cars are railroad controlled. The rest are non-railroad controlled. These are cars owned by shippers, leased by shippers, or simply private cars available for shipper use. If you want more specifics, NS and BNSF both have about 80,000 rail cars, with UP and CSX not far behind. On the private side, TTX has about 200,000 cars with GE having about 140,000 and CIT and GATX with about 100,000 each. Union Tank Car and Trinity car each have about 70,000 cars. These are all companies that lease cars and the numbers keep changing as they buy and sell entire fleets or series of cars. Actual shippers have a maximum of less than 20,000 cars, but there are lots of these cars.
While UMLER has all the facts, it would be nice to look through PER (Printed Equipment Register) and look at the statistical totals for each owner.
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bartman-tn Currently, about 35-40% of the freight cars are railroad controlled. The rest are non-railroad controlled. These are cars owned by shippers, leased by shippers, or simply private cars available for shipper use. If you want more specifics, NS and BNSF both have about 80,000 rail cars, with UP and CSX not far behind. On the private side, TTX has about 200,000 cars with GE having about 140,000 and CIT and GATX with about 100,000 each. Union Tank Car and Trinity car each have about 70,000 cars. These are all companies that lease cars and the numbers keep changing as they buy and sell entire fleets or series of cars. Actual shippers have a maximum of less than 20,000 cars, but there are lots of these cars.
Not sure how to classify TTX as its railroad owned but that's really a minor point.
BuslistArgue all you want the fact is you don't OWN the car which was the question. The stewardship of the car is recognized by it carrying the railroads reporting marks.
Which is the point I was trying to make. Overall included in his question: Do the railroad companies own the most cars,or do the rail car lessors own the most cars? To which you replied: Many cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks. This leaves a gray area in which the cars are lettered for a railroad, but technically belong to a lessor (like your leased automobile, which is registered in your name). For the purposes of the original question, I would say these cars "belong" to the railroads. Bartman laid it out nicely.
Do the railroad companies own the most cars,or do the rail car lessors own the most cars?
To which you replied:
Many cars are leased to the railroads and carry the railroads reporting marks.
This leaves a gray area in which the cars are lettered for a railroad, but technically belong to a lessor (like your leased automobile, which is registered in your name). For the purposes of the original question, I would say these cars "belong" to the railroads.
Bartman laid it out nicely.
But the original question was who OWNS the most cars, your responses ignore that question!
Balt, ask and ye shall receive: This is from the April 2016 Official Railway Equipment Register:BNSF: 79686 cars.CN: 30717 cars + 1138 (B&LE), 556 (CC), 2928 (GTW), 4572 (IC), 55 (WLO), 5623 (WC), 29 (WCCL), 376 (SSAM), 184 (AC) (For some reason, these companies are all listed separately yet...grand total, 46178 cars)CP: 19797 cars, plus 11061 SOO = 30858 cars.CSXT: 60102 carsKCS: 10764 cars, plus 6364 KCSM = 17128 cars.NS: 70888 cars.UP: 71944 cars.
Now, for the major private owners (of which General Electric is no longer one):American Railcar Industries/American Railcar Leasing: 38121 cars.The Andersons: 18524 cars.Chicago Freight Car Leasing Co.: 10562 cars.The CIT Group/Capital Finance, Inc.: 89290 cars.GATX Rail Canada Corporation: 4593 cars.General American Marks Company: 86698 cars.Greenbrier Management Services, L.L.C.: 22499 cars.The David J. Joseph Company: 5342 cars.Midwest Railcar Corporation: 11669 cars.Mitsui Rail Capital, L.L.C.: 5007 cars.Procor Limited: 29925 cars.Trinity Industries Leasing Company: 94473 cars.TTX Company: 164047 cars.Union Tank Car Company: 107051 cars.Wells Fargo Rail Corporation: 102065 cars.Wells Fargo is a combination of First Union Rail and a good chunk of what was left of the GE fleet. GE cars also went to General American and Union Tank Car.If your favorite private leasing company isn't listed here, we might be able to figure out what happened to them.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
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