The current, November issue of Trains Magazine has a a article about Greenbriar’s new Multi-Max auto rack. In short, it can be adjusted(?) from bi-level to tri-level loading as need to meet demand. In Bi-level configuration, the article says it can carry 10 SUV’s.
Considering that a top end SUV could probably run in the $50,000 to $60, 000 range, a carload of those could be worth upwards of a half million dollars! Would these be the most valuable carload shipments commonly shipped by rail in the US?
What were the Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo diesels recently shipped to Brazil worth? Granted they had the trucks(with traction motors) on separate flat cars. All the really expensive stuff was in the carbody - single flat car load.
For things shipped on a regular basis, my chips would be on a single well with two containers stuffed with high end electronics. To equal the length of the subject car, multiply by two…
In the invisible category I know of a shipper of pharmaceuticals that uses intermodal. Based on experience the shipper fills the container until it reaches 7 figure value. I can also think of a company that ships non prescription pharmaceuticals. I don’t think the Boeing fuselages are an everyday shipment Forgive me for being non specific, part of the ability of railroads to handle these shipments is there anonymity amonst an ocean of freight. Rgds IGN
Car loads of farm equipment, tractors and combines, would also be high value loads. They are usually flagged on the train list as such. I must admit that farm equipment isn’t as common as It used to be. Once in a while some other special loads might get that tag, and maybe a dimensional warning, too.
Usually the only ones tagged high value are out in the open, like on a flat car. High value loads get special placement, probably because the loads on a flat car are more accessible than if it were in a container or box car. Or even in an enclosed auto rack.
I think I can provide some info on the movements of Aircraft fuselages from Wichita,Ks. to Boeing Co in the Renton, Wa. area. It is a pretty common sight around here. The moves are BNSF, all the way, between these two points, IIRC. The fuselages are actually made by Spirit Aviation Systems in Wichita (nee: Boeing CO. Plant) to Their facilities in Washington State. Back in July of 2013 there were news releases about how they were going to ramp up production of the 737 and its variants. One of which is the Navy’s P8A (Poisiden) it is a hybrid of the 737-800, its wings from the 737-900. See @ http://www.boeing.com/boeing/defense-space/military/p8a/
I would think revenue moves of locomotives would be up there, ofte. multiple millions of dollars per unit. Have we forgotten military trains? How much would a train load of tanks cost?
Tobacco products are right up there in the valuable load category.
Think of how many packs of cigarettes will fit in a container/trailer/boxcar “Big Money, Big Money”. Then that container/trailer/boxcar will always find a rainstorm to run through. Every time.
Then they’ll claim water damage. And everyone who smokes along the way will get free smokes because of the “Water Damage”. What water, what rain? “Hey look at the load, it got wet somewhere, We can’t sell these.”
Been there, done that. Just put it in the freight rate and play the game.
So, while “admitting” to the unseen high value cargo would make said cargo more of a target than it already is (witness the train robberies that have occured where a train is caused to stop in the “middle of nowhere,” and by the time the crew gets to where the problem is, the thieves have already cleaned out a container and vanished), it would appear that small fortunes are travelling by rail pretty much everywhere.
And here I am pointing out to people that their next pair of sneakers is in that container they see going by…
It’s getting close to 30 years now, but at least one of the containers that blew of the Kate Shelley bridge contained sneakers. They said fishermen found sneakers in the river for a few years after. One of the other containers that went into the drink contained Uzis’. No one “fished” any of them out of the river in later years, the Government made sure all were accounted for.
Murphy, the train list (aka, wheel report) is the listing of cars in the train. Ours are listed from the rear end to the front and show: car initial and number, car type, car gross weight, length, maximum car speed, On line (UP in my case) destination station, receiving railroad (if going off line in interchange) destination city and consignee. It also includes any special handling instructions and for hazmat, all the applicable shipping and emergency response information. That’s the conductor’s copy.
The engineer’s copy has the so called Xs and Os. It shows tonnage for each car in horizontal column form, which lets the engineer know where the weight is in the train. Also accumulated axle count and accumulated length. The axle count begins from the head end while the length counts from the back. I’ve seen train lists from other railroads and are similar.
The reporting of cars from the back forward is a hold over from when the lists were made (and adjusted) manually by the conductor. Cars are usually picked up or set out on the head end. Listing them
737’s are selling like pancakes at a community breakfast. At the moment they’re Boeing’s hottest product. They are ‘medium range’ planes, and very much in demand.
I’m with Greyhounds, Tobacco products have to be up at the top of the list. think about it. a 12x5x2" pack age at roughly 2 oz. worth 40-50 bucks per. filling a high cube boxcar… And it’s got to be as regular as is gets
Re Tobacco products. The shippers of this usually stop loading the trailer or container at 2million dollars worth of product. This value is the usual limit of a carriers responsibility in case of loss on a single bill of lading. Many cargoes go past this amount. But are insured by the shipper. Not an issue with rail however in ocean shipping a shipper can be held liable for monetary damages if a ship suffers a catastrophe. And (IIRC) it is based on the percentage of the value of the total cargo. Rgds IGN
Depends on the details of the dimensions. For example, a standard 8’ x 8’ x 20’ box has 1,280 cu. ft.; a 40 ft. has 2,560 cu. ft.; and a 53 ft. has 3,392 cu. ft.; slightly more for the 8’-6" and 9’ high versions, etc.