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Have Roadrailers been removed off the former Water Level Route ? Been quite sometime since I have seen 1 on this route...

I know they are supposed to be phased out this year, but I am curious to see if we will start seeing TOFC or intermodal in place of them on the Wabash line.

YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:I know they are supposed to be phased out this year, but I am curious to see if we will start seeing TOFC or intermodal in place of them on the Wabash line.

hey have been running TOFC Triple Crown for some time, They acquired a bunch of former Celadon Trailers and put their Triple Crown info and placed them into service..

What was the main reason Roadrailers were created? I have seen them in a picture. I just don't consider it a stable way to move truck trailers, because I think that a trailer could get ripped apart during transport.

minernut333 wrote:What was the main reason Roadrailers were created? I have seen them in a picture. I just don't consider it a stable way to move truck trailers, because I think that a trailer could get ripped apart during transport.

They are not standard trailers. They are built to be able to withstand a lot more forces (like being pulled by a locomotive) than the average trailer.

minernut333 wrote:What was the main reason Roadrailers were created? I have seen them in a picture. I just don't consider it a stable way to move truck trailers, because I think that a trailer could get ripped apart during transport.

Roadrailers was created as a cheaper alternative to TOFC without the OFC lol. Didn't need flat cars or cranes,only a stretch of blacktop,which in theory meant you could drop them off at the nearest railroad siding with a crossing for a customer but they never operated it like that. They just built smaller yards for Roadrailers for semi tractors to make the drop-off/pick-ups from the surrounding area and special trailers. As a side note,Roadrailers are more fuel efficent as locomotives aren't pulling the extra weight of flatcars themselves.just trailers.

JStryker722 wrote:As a side note,Roadrailers are more fuel efficent as locomotives aren't pulling the extra weight of flatcars themselves.just trailers.

The extra weight of the stronger construction would not help the truck driver's fuel bill (especially on RoadRailers with the built-in track wheels that retracted instead of removable bogies). But that fuel efficiency is the truck company's problem, not the railroad.

Why are they getting rid of them? Are the trailers too expensive to maintain to railroad standards? Is it cheaper to load them on flatbeds? Are there not enough of them running between the right terminals to build efficient length trains?

The fleet was coming all due at once for a mandatory replacement date. NS decided the cost of replacement wasn't worth it.

They can still be used on the road, but (like the 50 year date for interchange cars) the roadrailers had a date that after which they could no longer be used on the rails.

You will probably see the old roadrailers on flats for years to come.

Turn some larger or profitable terminals into TOFC/COFC and consolidate the rest of the Triple Crown traffic with the existing terminals for TOFC/COFC that has been run separately from Triple Crown.

So much misinformation here.

Triple Crown is still very much using Roadrailers as intended, the triple crown trailers you are seeing as tofc are old trailers they have purchased second hand to get them through till they decide what they are doing.

The roadrailers aren't being phased out and there is no current plans to do so.

And when did you ever see Roadrailers on the Chicago Line in Indiana?

I first saw roadrailers back in the 60s, tacked onto the end of passenger trains.

I would think this would be a cost effective way for the railroads to haul this kind of a load as less weight on the total train. They have been doing this for years can't see them stopping now.

MagnumForce wrote:So much misinformation here.

Triple Crown is still very much using Roadrailers as intended, the triple crown trailers you are seeing as tofc are old trailers they have purchased second hand to get them through till they decide what they are doing.

The roadrailers aren't being phased out and there is no current plans to do so.

And when did you ever see Roadrailers on the Chicago Line in Indiana?

The last time I saw a Triple Crown train on the WLR was 3/23/2005 and for some reason I believe that it had originated in Minneapolis. They have been running some conventional Triple Crown trailers in TOFC as well.

minernut333 wrote:What was the main reason Roadrailers were created? I have seen them in a picture. I just don't consider it a stable way to move truck trailers, because I think that a trailer could get ripped apart during transport.

The main reason they were created is obvious... they require less equipment. no lifting or cranes required. Low Tare Weight: The RoadRailer trailer’s tare weight is only about 800 lb. more than the equivalent conventional over-the-road trailer. Maximum Interior Dimensions: "No compromise" interior dimensions exactly match those of the over-the-road trailer and are superior to all domestic containers. Slack Free Coupling: The RoadRailer coupler is virtually slack-free, eliminating the railroad train action that causes product damage in conventional intermodal service. The typical RoadRailer train has 99.6% less slack than a conventional piggyback train, and 95% less slack than a typical double-stack train.
Maximum Cargo Security: With only 12" between trailers in a RoadRailer train, doors cannot be opened and cargo remains safe and secureFrom unassuming beginnings...

Triple Crown Services Company began service in 1986 providing truckload, bi-modal transportation between auto plants and suppliers in Detroit and St. Louis. Using RoadRailer® technology where the trailer is both a road trailer and rail car. Triple Crown was able to fill a niche in shippers’ logistics strategies—find a way to get highway-like service at rail-like rates.


Mike

It seems like there has been a huge increase in Marten and Celadon trailers, triple crown is rare for me to see now.

The same Triple Crown trains are running that have always been running. Extra stuff is going as TOFC. Business is good for the company which is a Trucking company in and of itself whose parent company is NS.

Notch 8 wrote:With only 12" between trailers in a RoadRailer train, doors cannot be opened and cargo remains safe and secureFrom unassuming beginnings...

What is the maximum radius curve (degrees) that a RoadRailer can traverse? Is there anywhere on the NS or partner systems where RoadRailers cannot operate due to track radius or turnouts?

I don't believe there are any restrictions. The was the axles and coupler system are they can Traverse about anything.

They've stringlined the curve at "bath" in Muncie, IN a couple times with them. I would bet there are some restrictions but most of the really tight curves you're not going to be moving a roadrailer train on it anyway.

Practice Safe CSX

For what it's worth, this sure looks like one of the RoadRailer trailers on a flatcar...I can't say I've ever seen that distinctive slot below the doors on any other trailer, plus it has the folding back bumper the RRs have.

CSX_CO wrote:They've stringlined the curve at "bath" in Muncie, IN a couple times with them. I would bet there are some restrictions but most of the really tight curves you're not going to be moving a roadrailer train on it anyway.

Practice Safe CSX

Unless a rookie service planner picked the route of course lol jk. All seriousness I bet there is a length limit you hit before you start worrying about curve radiuses but most mainlines that Triple Crown run on in the mid-west dont have really right curves that would be a problem anyway unless you are talking connecting tracks and that sorta thing.