I have had no success finding info on the follwing question. Perhaps you all can help. On any typical train you will see rail cars from all kinds of railroads. For example, at the BNSF auto ramp in Saint Paul, MN, you will see auto carriers from BNSF, UP, CSX, NS, CN, etc. How is this sharing of cars between the railroads handled? If a grain elevator is my railroads customer, how do I use covered hoppers from other roads? Are rental fees paid to the cars owner. Or is the grain elevator a customer of these other roads to? Here is the breakdown of the quesion. 1. How do the railroads share cars with one another? 2. Who does maintance on the cars and how does it make it back to the home car shop? 3. Who pays for what and to whom? I model primarly the BNSF. However, rarely do you see a train with purerly BNSF rolling stock. This is true pretty much for every major road. I am trying to figure out this interchange maddness so I know how to plan the operarions of my layout in a prototypical manner. Thanks Matt
Maybe John Armstrong's book The Railroad something(?) would be something to read... There's gotta be a good explanation on car routing on the web somewhere.
It's over my head but well covered in the press, seems to depend more on if it's a specific commodity type car or a "generic" car. All are returned as non-revenue tonnage will allow. An empty car ain't makin money. I'd guess John Armstrong has written about it For my own operations, empties are sent out as "fill out " tonnage, and I try to load them first but some commodity type cars go loaded one way and empty the other. ------------------
This is a great topic I similarly have always wondered how to operate my layout using train lists or cards. I recently read a MR article about computer programs which made switch lists etc has anyone ever used this type of program? It is about car routing? At the moment I basically run trains aroud my layout without any purpose. It is an area I'd like to pursue to have a working timetable and switch list so my layout runs more lke a railroad. ------------------ Paul Cassar-# Member number 50 ICQ 61198217 http://users.bigpond.net.au/railroad2000
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tunnel88: Maybe John Armstrong's book The Railroad something(?) would be something to read... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> "The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does". The library in La Crosse, WI did not have the book but they did have the CD-Rom that you could check out. ------------------ Residing in BNSF's St. Croix Subdivision near Trempealeau, WI
Readingg the book would be good, but I haven't seen and ball park answers so I'll toss one out. This is not hard and fast but rather a guidline answer. >>> I have had no success finding info on the follwing question. Perhaps you all can help. On any typical train you will see rail cars from all kinds of railroads. For example, at the BNSF auto ramp in Saint Paul, MN, you will see auto carriers from BNSF, UP, CSX, NS, CN, etc. How is this sharing of cars between the railroads handled? If a grain elevator is my railroads customer, how do I use covered hoppers from other roads? <<< You as the client can make arrangements with specific railroads or third party companies for cars. If it is a railroad, they will always attempt to run their cars in first because they have to pay other RRs or companies for the use of their cars on their tracks. >>>> Are rental fees paid to the cars owner. Or is the grain elevator a customer of these other roads to? <<<< Yes and yes. The customer is the customer of the contracting agent. BNSF could contract with NS for pickup in NS territory for delivery in BNSF territory although that is rare. <<<< Here is the breakdown of the quesion. 1. How do the railroads share cars with one another? >>>> For money. Railroad A needs cars. It can take any uncommitted MTY on its lines to fill with a load. Normally, this load points the car back toward its home rails as the railroad A pays for the car on its rails that does not belong to it. The idea is to sent it home quickest and with a load if possible. Grain cars are another matter. They are generally contracted for specific uses by owners and will be held for service where needed by the contracting railroad. >>>> 2. Who does maintance on the cars and how does it make it back to the home car shop? <<<< The home shop where possible. Any repair made to a car off its home rails will be billed to the owner by the repairer. >>>> 3. Who pays for what and to whom? <<<< I think that has been answered above. Its all by contract and costs are paid by the shipper and p[aid out by the contracting agency to whomever was involved in the transportation. Next question? Roger Roger Hensley rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ == == Railroads of Madison County (Indiana) ==
Why didn't you tell me all this when I was running my Lionel set, Roger? I was just reaching over and putting the 'empties' back on a yard track, and putting the 'play-like' loaded ones out on the main line to run. Gee that was fun! I couldn't have read all the paperwork anyhow. Ha. Look how far we have come toward realism since 1937!! Thanks for the info, Roger! ------------------ Watash
Colonel, you asked about a car/commodity software system. Try this one....it's awesome! goto: www.protrak.cc ------------------ ship SOO!
the shipper usually orders the car from the railroad. then the railroad finds a empty near the location.the only solid road trains found are grian,coke,and coal trains that i can think of right now(there are probably more). train cars are not shipped by what road name is on them just whats is inside.you can have interchange of many different road name cars that all go to the same place.i work in a switch yard for the ns and we have 25 class tracks on the east and west yards.the cars are classed on where they go not what road name is on them, we interchange with the bnsf,ic,csx and up.all the interchange is,is getting loads of stuff to customers on different railroad lines.there are many customers the bnsf,ic,up,and csx serve that the ns switches the plant and then gets it to them through interchange and likewise with the other railroads.and many of the run through trains with foreign power as we call it are interchanged with different railroads.a usual ford auto part train is made up of many different road name cars but all heading to ford for unloading.hope this helps a little. ------------------ ed pinkley home of the pinkley taurus
Congrats on your NEW BABY Ed! This is real good info to have about the cars. Is this why most Auto-Racks really belong to TTX (TrailerTrain) although they are marked BNSF, NS, CSX, etc.? ------------------ BNSF RAILFAN-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
The TTX flats and all the variations of TTX cars are owned by the TrailerTrain Company, which in turn is owned by the major railroads. So a railroad like Santa Fe (don't believe in BNSF) would buy new auto racks and install them on the TTX flats, as an example. Auto rack cars, like many other cars operate in pools, which is why you will see such a mix. For example, GM at Oklahoma City receives assigned pool auto rack cars which used to be/and may still be based on where the loaded auto cars will go to unload. If unloading point for example is in St Louis for those GM cars from Okie City, then railroads that will benefit financially will assign cars to the service. Auto parts cars coming to GM from various sources are also pool cars, so many cars assigned to a parts manufacturer in one place, etc. I see a lot of solid auto rack trains on the BNSF out of Kansas City, and have seen solid empty auto rack trains going to Okie City from Kansas City. Unit trains can be just about any commodity that ships in volume. Santa Fe had sulphur unit trains that ran in Texas. Actually TOFC/COFC trains can be considered unit trains. There have been solid unit tank trains running. Well enough rambling for one night, it is late and old men should be in bed. (or running trains)
atsf man is right about the pool thing. there are different types of auto racks though.ettx racks have three levels in them and are used for shipping cars only due to the clearance between levels.ttax racks only have two levels in them and are used for vans and trucks and mail vans etc.i'll get the other auto rack letters when i get back to work from my vacation and let you all know them and what they haul.till then have a good one. ------------------ ed pinkley home of the pinkley taurus
Yeah, congranulations on the new baby Ed!! "Do dis be da spot where da FREE-LANCERS is susposed to gather now? ------------------ Watash
Maybe yes, maybe no. Stay tunned and we'll let you all know as soon as we get all the details worked out. It's in the works but we don't have a "home" yet. ------------------ BNSF RAILFAN-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by watash: Good Grief! If us Free-Lancers have no home, does that mean we are now hoboes? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Be patient my friend! Besides, I LOVE HOBO STEW! US Free-Booters and Proto-Free-Booters will most likely have a home soon. We want to get the best home for our "BUCKS", RIGHT!?! Give it time... Now, back to the subject at hand. Do all the North American Railways own a piece of TTX or just a hand picked few? I remembered reading an artical in either TRAINS or MODEL RAILROADER about TTX, but I can't find it. It explained how the flat was owned by TTX and the rack was owned by the Railroad. How does that work? ------------------ BNSF RAILFAN-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
thanks you everyone the little bn and bnsf fan is home and doing fine.(can't wait to show him some pictures of bn stuff though. ------------------ ed pinkley home of the pinkley taurus
This is from the TTX FAQ: "TTX is 100% owned by North American Railroads. Thus, these railroads are both owners and customers of TTX. Non-owner railroads have access to TTX railcars through interchange agreements between the owner and non-owner railroads." Unfortunately, it doesn't say anywhere which railroads are owners. But there are links to various RRs on the FAQ page. That could be a clue to the owners; but then again, maybe not. Brent, the Nov '98 issue of MR had drawings of a tri-level auto rack. Is that the article you were thinking of? Here's an excerpt: "The racks themselves are owned by individual railroads and most ride on TTX flatcars, though there are a few racks and flats wholly owned by a particular railroad. The logic behind this lies in TTX's existence as a pool service for railroads. Because auto racks are primarily in captive service to particular railroads and shippers, they aren't available to the whole pool of member railroads. Thus the racks are owned by the user railroads and TTX bills for the flats on a straight per-diem basis." Here is my question. Couldn't the same thing be accomplished by TTX supplying both the flat and the rack? Granted, that wouldn't be very interesting from a modeller's point of view . Dwight
That's the one! Thanks, I can't find my back issue! Of course, now that you posted the part that I had a question about, it will magically appear on my coffie table. ------------------ BNSF RAILFAN-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
ok now i know why we store a whole bunch of the flat cars that are cut down trilevels in danville.never knew they were done like that.we store them there until they are either scrapped in logansport or sent on to be rebuilt. ------------------ ed pinkley home of the pinkley taurus
