Forgive me, I live in an area where most all railcars are boxcars,gondolas, and hoppers. On some threads there is talk of “pigs” and “stackers”. I thought I had it straight for a while, but apparantly not. What are they, and how did they get those particular nicknames?
Oh come on! Pigs are the other white meat with curly tails, stackers are those acne faced geeks putting cans on the shelf of your local PigglyWiggly.
Let’s get back to railroading, for crying out loud![swg]
“pigs” - trailer on a flat car… the trailer is riding piggyback.
“stacker” - one container stacked on one or two containers in a well car.
stack train - a train that is only hauling containers.
piggyback train - a train that is made up of trailers riding on flat cars,
CC
Thanks Chris30. I’m not sure why I never made the connection between “pigs” and “piggyback”.
what about a ham steak and a stack of pancakes?
Futuremodal - a stacker is also something that is green and you put it on a hamburger!
Yum
Sea Cans = Container (just to stir the pot some more)
Chassis= What has rubber tires and carries sea cans around. When not in use, they wind up on end in special racks in the bigger intermodal yards
Bomber Chassis = What carries sea cans around during transloading at the docks
pigs: slang term for the police, usually derogitory
stacker: a type of diet pill
Pigs (trailers on flat cars) have had other names as well. The L&N called them “totes”, the Southern called them “TOFCs”, and some call them “pig trains”.
Stackers have also had other names such as “COFCs”, “Intermodel trains”, and “Stack trains”.
Just a little more “FYI”.
OK this might be a bit nit pickey but COFC stands for ‘Container On Flat Car’. I would not consider a COFC train a stacker as they are usualy single level on 89’ TTX flats or spine cars.
“Excuse me Sir, but seeing as the VP’s a V.I.P. shouldn’t we keep the VP’s PC on the QT? If the VP’s PC leaks to the VC he could become MIA then we’d all get put out on KP.”
-Robin Williams; Good Morning, Vietnam
Never in my career have heard the term “stacker” except from railfans. Stack train, double-stack, yes. Stacker sounds like something pancake-like sold at IHOP.
S. Hadid
Stacks are containers that can sit onto of each other with no wheels attached. Pigs are trailers that have wheels attached & sit on a flatcar with the wheels on. Road railers are the ones that ride on wheels on the wheels & are transferred to rubber wheels to go over the road
You mean like that diner scene in “Dumb & Dumber”? If so, I’ll pass![xx(]
Mookie Stacker
Cinncinnati Pig:
[:D]
Larry, how about a flying pig.
Thanx for the help, Tree! You understood without any problem…
Moo…
Cheviot Hill & I forgive Tree68 on the mis-spelling of the old home town (Cin-cinn-ati, only the locals can spell it and fewer know of the Roman general or the society that spawned the name…Go Bengals, Who dey?)
Chad: Care to enter old Tin-shoes in the next Flying Pig Marathon?[:)]…supposebly he and CopCar are raising havoc around Georgetown right now getting loopy…The guy is covering ground bigtime.
New Terms for here: “Straddlebuggies” & “PiggiePackers” (as in how do the sea cans and pigs get on and off the train.)
He sure is. I’m just glad that with all the traveling he is doing he took the time to drive the extra 140 miles (round trip from Thousand Oaks) up to Cajon on sunday. I enjoyed meeting him. I just wish he could have stayed more then a few hours. He should have some great shots to share when he gets home.
Cincinnatus was the Roman farmer who left his plow and became a general in time of war crisis. After the war ended he went back to the plow. Correct?
Speaking of the Bengals, the wife saw a bumper sticker the other day that read, “Bengal by birth, Packer by the grace of God”. (Ducking and running!)