He guys the company I work for is thinking about sending @ 100 pieces of utility quipment from CA to LA. The equipment would range from 2 axle medium size trucks (i.e. international 4900s) to pickups. If it could make its own train, and not counting on federal intervention, what would be the quickest that a railroad could get it there. We sent vehicles to Florida last year by truck/trailer and that was a fiasco.
I suggest you get on the Web and get the customer service contact for your nearest railroad. Tell them exactly what, how much and where, and see what they can work up. In any circumstances, you have a project that is going to take planning, coordination and time. Don’t expect the railroad to just back up a string of empty flats to your door and load 'em up and move 'em out.
You will be competeing with the military for the same equipment. You wil need to contact whichever railroads you want to use to see if you can get the required number of cars. The transit time will be the least of your worries. You will spend more time organizing the move, assembling the the equipment, loading the cars, and tieing down the equipment than the actual move will take.
Once you get the cars loaded, how and where are you going to unload them?
Dave is right loading and unloading will be a major chore, particularly if you have not done it before.
If you can originate on BNSF I would lean toward them as I see on the News Wired their Avondale Yard is dry. Avondale is on the west bank of the Mississippi just over the Huey P. Long Bridge.
Last I heard, KCS among NS were the only ones actively restoring there lines (maybe the only ones able to at this point).
As for transit of it, give them a call. Thease guys are human and must be able to see the suffering too. I would say it is safe to say that they would make a major effort to help.
This would be a win for the public relations of any railroad envolved. Rather than contact the marketing department, I’d get in touch with the PR department of say Union Pacific or BNSF. If they see the public benifit they can move very fast.
I agree with SP9033!! Union Pacific does have a yard at Avondale in the New Orleans area. BNSF also goes nearby. The railroad can probably get the stuff there in good time.
Thanks for the input! I am hoping to convince them that shipping rail is still the best choice, but no one in management wants to stick their head out on a project like this since this hasn’t been done before.
You know how that goes.
I would call the reps at TTX and see if they even have any ro-ro flats available. If so, then you’ll also need your own portable ramp trailers so you won’t have to go hunting for a spur with a ramp at both origin and destination (those are getting rare these days), then you can load and unload circus style without the need for lift-on/lift-off equipment.