In July 2003 an old Grand Trunk autorack was sent to the Pickens Railroad in Anderson, SC off the NS. The car was placed in a small yard for a few days and then sent back via another NS local. To my knowledge the car was never loaded or unloaded. Does anyone have any information about this car and its reason for delivery.
Patb
The car could have been sent to be scrapped.Csx is sending a lot of old auto racks to a local outfit here in Defiance to be scrapped.
stay safe
Joe
Well over 100 BNSF and UPRR heritage autoracks have been cut up at Pueblo (Progress Rail) in the last few months. It appears all of the older autoracks that do not completely protect new autos (i.e NO openings!) are getting cut-up. Also seeing plenty of older covered hoppers getting the torch as well.
well let’s see the Railroads should go back to open screend cars that let’s you see the cars or trucks… now that’s a sight to see. can’t you see that long line of open screend autoracks cruising down the tracks. gone are the days…
What a great sight indeed! Unfortunately I can only imagine it as I’m a bit young. I can see the dissadvantages, though. I once saw a picture in a National Geographic of two kids with bows and arrows shooting at a train of autoracks. This wasn’t a posed picture.
I heard this story about two guys who climbed aboard a train loaded with new Hondas that was in the yards at Vancouver. They rode the train in one of the vehicles (that part actually does kind of sound like fun) and actually started the car and burned rubber right there in the autorack! They also honked the horn and waved at people as the train went through towns as well as to the crew of another train they passed. I can’t help but wonder if these guys were on drugs. Eventually though, someone had the brains to call the cops. At one town the train stopped where police cars were waiting on either side of the tracks and the two men were then arrested.
Open autoracks are becomming a thing of the past, like steam locomotives, wood rolling stock, RPO’s, etc. and in my mind should be preserved instead of being scrapped. Besides railroad museums I also think it would be great to have them at classic car museums as well. Just a thought, but I can’t stand to see any piece of railroad equipment go to the torch, whether it’s rare/historical or not.
Beleive it or not I still see the occasional loaded open auto rack with just a net on the sides for protection. It must be one in 10,000 or more because it seems that closed auto racks comprise half of all the trains I ever see.
In July 2003 an old Grand Trunk autorack was sent to the Pickens Railroad in Anderson, SC off the NS. The car was placed in a small yard for a few days and then sent back via another NS local. To my knowledge the car was never loaded or unloaded. Does anyone have any information about this car and its reason for delivery.
Patb
The car could have been sent to be scrapped.Csx is sending a lot of old auto racks to a local outfit here in Defiance to be scrapped.
stay safe
Joe
Well over 100 BNSF and UPRR heritage autoracks have been cut up at Pueblo (Progress Rail) in the last few months. It appears all of the older autoracks that do not completely protect new autos (i.e NO openings!) are getting cut-up. Also seeing plenty of older covered hoppers getting the torch as well.
well let’s see the Railroads should go back to open screend cars that let’s you see the cars or trucks… now that’s a sight to see. can’t you see that long line of open screend autoracks cruising down the tracks. gone are the days…
What a great sight indeed! Unfortunately I can only imagine it as I’m a bit young. I can see the dissadvantages, though. I once saw a picture in a National Geographic of two kids with bows and arrows shooting at a train of autoracks. This wasn’t a posed picture.
I heard this story about two guys who climbed aboard a train loaded with new Hondas that was in the yards at Vancouver. They rode the train in one of the vehicles (that part actually does kind of sound like fun) and actually started the car and burned rubber right there in the autorack! They also honked the horn and waved at people as the train went through towns as well as to the crew of another train they passed. I can’t help but wonder if these guys were on drugs. Eventually though, someone had the brains to call the cops. At one town the train stopped where police cars were waiting on either side of the tracks and the two men were then arrested.
Open autoracks are becomming a thing of the past, like steam locomotives, wood rolling stock, RPO’s, etc. and in my mind should be preserved instead of being scrapped. Besides railroad museums I also think it would be great to have them at classic car museums as well. Just a thought, but I can’t stand to see any piece of railroad equipment go to the torch, whether it’s rare/historical or not.
Beleive it or not I still see the occasional loaded open auto rack with just a net on the sides for protection. It must be one in 10,000 or more because it seems that closed auto racks comprise half of all the trains I ever see.