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Road Railers vs. Containers/trailers on flat car

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arbfbe
  • Member since
    February 2002
  • 910 posts
Posted by arbfbe on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 2:52 PM
That was true in the early days, but not any more. RR trains can go 150 units these days, and many on NS these days are regularly >100 units. Some require two locomotives most days.


Sure, you can now add more roadrailers but there are not usually any of those laying around the yard looking for a train out of town. There are, however, generally more that a few car loads of general freight languishing in the yard which cannot be moved account there is not enough power to get them moving. Now here is this train of 1 - 150 roadrailers and there is no way to get the junk cars added to the head end (no air connection on the hoppers for the roadrailer suspension, incompatible brake system) nor to the rear end (no drawbar). So all those operating officers who have worked their way up the ladder see the roadrailer concept as too inflexible for the (their) railroad's needs. So they want to nip it in the bud before the concept spreads and the customers start to dictate how the trains are run.
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oltmannd
  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: Atlanta
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Posted by oltmannd on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 1:09 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by arbfbe

The biggest disadvantage to the railroad operating people is they cannot fill the roadrailer train to tonnage. All that expensive horsepower wasted on a short fast train. Here are all those cars waiting in the yard for power to move them and this roadrailer goes out with one unit and no drawbar on the rear to add several thousand tons of cement or rock or lumber or intermodal. It just grates on all these old operating guys when a train leaves light.


That was true in the early days, but not any more. RR trains can go 150 units these days, and many on NS these days are regularly >100 units. Some require two locomotives most days.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/) 

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arbfbe
  • Member since
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Posted by arbfbe on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 1:05 PM
The biggest disadvantage to the railroad operating people is they cannot fill the roadrailer train to tonnage. All that expensive horsepower wasted on a short fast train. Here are all those cars waiting in the yard for power to move them and this roadrailer goes out with one unit and no drawbar on the rear to add several thousand tons of cement or rock or lumber or intermodal. It just grates on all these old operating guys when a train leaves light.
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spbed
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Austin TX
  • 4,941 posts
Posted by spbed on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 12:27 PM
It has been a while since I did this but I think the chassis for the container only came in about 4,400 LBs for the 40' size. [:p][:)][:o)]

Originally posted by edbenton

Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR  Austin TX Sub

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edbenton
  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Back home on the Chi to KC racetrack
  • 2,011 posts
Posted by edbenton on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 12:13 PM
Actually a 53 ft roadrailer ways in at around 15000-17000 lbs figure on a max load of 45-46000 lbs. A 40 ft container 6-7000 lbs chassis is a around 9-10000 lbs. max load is around 42-45000 one advantage for the container is the fact that it is designed to be shipped in from overseas. Plus how heavy is a dvd player 10+ so yoo normally cube out before maxing out.
Always at war with those that think OTR trucking is EASY.
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spbed
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  • From: Austin TX
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Posted by spbed on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 10:29 AM
Due to the weight of the rail wheels/axles + highway wheels/axles Roadrailer's cannot carry the weight that a 40' container can due to the allowable weights allowed on the highways. FYI the tare weight of 40' container averages about 6,700 LBs. I would guess the tare weight of a R/railer is at least over 10,000 LBs or higher[:o)][:p][:)]

Originally posted by Gordon James

Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR  Austin TX Sub

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oltmannd
  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: Atlanta
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Posted by oltmannd on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 9:16 AM
Roadrailer pros include:

Low rail tare weight
Low profile, close coupled, aerodynamic shape
High net ton miles per gallon
Low theft - end doors can't swing open in train
Slackless train - low longitudinal train forces
Low capital cost for terminals
No chassis fleet to manage (compared to COFC)

cons include:

Hard to manage bogie fleet
regional network
high highway tare wt.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/) 

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Anonymous
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    April 2003
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Road Railers vs. Containers/trailers on flat car
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 8:53 AM
I would be interested in knowing what the advantages and disadvantages there are between roadrailer trailers unit trains versus containers and trailers shipped on intermodal railcars? What are the pro's and con's of each mode?
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