Buying Railcars, then leasing them to railways.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Don' t forget that that the railroads own a fair amount of equipment too, and sometimes that sits idle waiting for loads.

If you really wanted to break into the business, maybe the way to go would be to find a regular shipper, and contract with them to use your cars. The problem might be that your economy of scale may result in the railroad being able to provide that same service for less, and there goes your business.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE:
Do you think you are ready to compete with the likes of GATX, and others?

Now you're generating more questions!!

Is it really competitive out there for this kind of thing, or generally is there a real big demand where leased railcars are quickly absorbed?

Is there a standard rate, or do the leasing companies compete with one another?

[Big_Boy_4005]

I'm not sure of the numbers, but owning railroad equipment takes big bucks. A single car has to be over 100K, so if you had a few million, you could own a small fleet. I would imagine that it is something like the apartment rental business, and vacancies kill. Time is money. If you win the lottery, buy railroad stock, it's easier. [swg]

Do you think you are ready to compete with the likes of GATX, and others?

[Anonymous]

Let me add a few more questions to this topic, please. [:)]

How about insurance?

How about needed repairs?

What about keeping track of the car (s) and knowing where they are?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I was just curious about what it takes to buy a railcar or railcars and lease them out to railways.

Do you purchse the railcars brand new from a railcar manufacturer then lease them out?
What kinds of prices do you pay for new railcars?
Do people buy used cars and lease them out?
Do a lot of people do this?
How do you get paid for the use of your car?
Is this a fairly common thing that's done by individual people who just own one or two cars?

Any info or webpage links would be helpful, I was just reading about this somewhere and it peaked my curiosity.