CE 515 Railroad Engineering

1. CE 515 Railroad Engineering Car Ownership and Distribution Source: Armstrong, Ch 10 “Transportation exists to conquer space and time -”

2. Railroad Car Ownership? • Balance • Too few = potential loss of business • Too many = more expenses • Car ownership/upkeep is 15% of expenses

3. Originating & Terminating Carriers • Originating carrier • Produce more products than consume • Usually short of cars • Causes need to lease them • Terminating Carriers • Consume more than produce • Have many “emptys” http://redlightnaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/thomas.jpg

4. Private Car Ownership • Railroads encourage utilities to own their own cars • In exchange, get reduced freight rates • Example: power plant having their own coal cars • Reduces railroads’ new car investments and maintenance costs • Initials end in “X”

5. Car Rental Systems • Bilateral Agreements • Use of another railroad’s cars • Terms and rate are private • Rail Inc (subsidy of AAR) keeps track of all “interchanges” and tracks balances • Per Diem • Actually per hour • How bilateral agreements are charged https://www.railinc.com/rportal/web/guest/home

6. Rates • Need to be high enough to have return to owner • Low enough to encourage the railroad to keep it long enough to find a return load • Will improve overall car use • Used to be regulated by ICC http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/blogs/investorcentric/uploaded_images/dollar-bill-question-mark-734386.jpg

7. Rates • Equipment Assets Management Working Committee • Recommend rates • Members represent all rail carriers • Rates established using formula involving original cost and age of car • Examples: • Elderly 50’ plain boxcar: $0.18/hr + $0.054/mile • Newer multilevel 89’ flatcar: $1.75/hr + $0.12/mile

8. Service and Distribution Rules • Objectives • Ensure well-timed movement of empties • Reduce empty car mileage • Example: • Empties can now take detours to be loaded instead of being always being sent directly back “home”

9. Assigned Service Cars • Cover specific products between specific shippers & consignees • Car ownership is often shared by different RR’s • Cars almost always return empty http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qH8XMxwphWA/0.jpg

10. Leasing Industry Leaders • For the most part is comprises of small/medium sized firms • Specialize in one or two types of cars • Also large companies • General Electric Railcar Services Corp. • Largest fleet in the industry • TTX • GATX Financial Corp http://rscat.com/index.php?gr_1_id=19&gr_2_id=7&gr_3_id=0&doc_id=4&start=all&all_news_In_Chanell=1&details=1 http://tankcarhomepage.railfan.net/photos2/gatx6105.jpg

11. Railbox & Railgon • TTX Corp. • Owned by major railroads • Own standardized plain cars for use by railroads • lower rates • Railbox (RBOX) : plain box cars • Railgon (GONX) : plain gondolas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boxcar_railbox.jpg

12. Railgon picture http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/NTCGRR/railgon8.JPG

13. https://www.railinc.com/rportal/web/guest/umleremis • Universal Machine Language Equipment Register • Date file updated daily • Shows availability for all cars • Maintained by Rail Inc

14. TRAIN II • Telerail Automated Information Network • Keeps location of every freight car • Covers all railroad interchanges in the US and Canada • SAM • Shipper Assist Message • Lets shippers receive data from cars carrying their shipments

15. Car Route Optimization • AAR continuously does studies to improve car use strategies • Database the waybills of 1% of all trains • Over 200,00 per year • Generate computer programs to evaluate the effect of car service http://4rail.net/4rmedia/nam/usa_gatx_ca_bakersfield_tankcarLPG_gatx57162__2008_XL.jpg

16. Sources • http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113855705.html • Armstrong, The Railroad: What It IS, What It Does • http://www.answers.com/topic/rental-of-railroad-cars