I’m looking at adding auto carriers to the freight operations on my modern day layout, however I’m not sure exactly how these types of trains and cars operate. These cars are fairly common, and I’m wondering where they usually originate from, and where in general they’re taken to. any information would help.
In general, the auto-carriers are loaded from big lots, either at domestic auto-plants, or at cargo ports (e.g. Port Newark, NJ - large lots of autos).
They are then unloaded at other big lots, and the vehicles either put on a auto-trailer for delivery, or simply driven to their destination.
As an addendum to the information already provided, cars are loaded and unloaded using metal ramps attached to the end car of the train, with interconnecting ramps between rail cars if more than one needs to be loaded or unloaded.
Just checked the Saturn plant north of Columbia, TN. Auto racks are loaded in a four-track yard which can handle five car cuts and has fixed ramps at the ends of the tracks. Immediately adjacent, a parking apron with lines of vehicles ready for loading. The actual factory (which is huge) is immediately adjacent - a logical item to be placed as a backdrop photo or a minimum-depth against-the-backdrop structure.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with auto racks `just passing through’)
auto racks can also be run mixed in freights or as an entire train. I’ve seen CN run specials that were all empty autoracks.
Union Pacific used to have a facility close to me where autoracks were unloaded. It was basically a big parking lot surrounded by chain link fencing. At one edge were the positionable ramps for driving autos off the racks. It always struck me as being easy to model, especially on the front edge of a layout where you could just have a track or two, the ramps, fence and maybe a bit of the asphalt lot.
This is a Bing View of one of the Port Newark (NJ) vehicle import yards that I mentioned in my previous post - you can see Autoracks in the western section, and the eastern section (depending on view) you can see some Auto-Carrier truck/trailers - this section of Port Newark is mostly reserved for FAPS (Foreign Auto Preparation Service) operations, as a quick scan w/ Bing or Google Satellite will show. They do a lot as can be seen by lookingt around their web site, including your interest: "Automotive Rail Loading and Unloading ". Couldn’t find images of such loading on their site, but it clearly is a major portion of their business - I think most trains leaving this facility (at least those I have seen over the years) are unit Auto-Racks.
Apparently there isn’t much youtube video of the actual loading/unloading process, but I guess this one will do - wait, this one is much more comprehensive, and in debunking the “FEMA portable jail” conspiracies points out the operation of loading an autorack very well.
They also unload at ports for export. They are either double or triple decked–depending on whether SUVs/trucks vs cars. UP has a new autorack that is convertible. There are some single deck racks for very large trucks/equipment. Given you are in NC, you may want to know when you fly into Atlanta sometimes you can see them load cars from the neaby Ford assembly plant. UP hauls a lot from the midwest auto plants to the West coast in what I would call unit trains. They may not be termed that for real, but I’ve seen several with no other car types. Sometimes when mixed, I normally see intermodal.
The new super max articulated cars are also fun to model with.
Richard