West on the VGN at Ellett

[NW Mailing List]

> At about 8:30 this evening a train of well over 100 empty container

> and/or piggyback cars went west. This is the first time I have seen an

> entire train (and it was a long one) of empty container/piggyback cars

> around here. 

>                     Ray Smoot




I've seen a few baretable I34 moves in the past (living along the Bristol line, I've seen far more I2A baretable moves), basically car balancing.  When I drove through Portsmouth last Tuesday, the yard had an entire pocket yard full of stored TTX TOFC spine-cars, and all the ones I could see were the older 48' versions.  With 53' trailers being the norm for TOFC today, these cars are basically obsolete, thus, they'red stored for now.  While many older cars have been converted to 53' cars by stretching the frame, in my opinion doing the entire fleet would be cost-prohibitive, given their age and the new AAR freight car life rules (i.e, in the long run, buying new 53' cars that have a 65-year car-life vs rebuilding (Rule 88ing) older cars that have a 50-year life, then have to be inspected every 5-years)


Robb Fisher
RFDI