Boxcars

[Bob Bufkin]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-railroads-cant-keep-enough-boxcars-in-service-1434879182

[nkalanaga]

Might be interesting, but I'm not going to subscribe to read it.

[wm-webb]

Try this.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fwhy-railroads-cant-keep-enough-boxcars-in-service-1434879182&ei=nAyJVZ4lj5LJBJqOhoAO&usg=AFQjCNHtOnt6SrAQZ1shW5kYZA5kaAHvGQ&sig2=v5Ju4MqjoMcJIHJ-3428hA&bvm=bv.96339352,d.aWw&cad=rja

[Blazeman]

Same thing there.

Maybe in a couple days the piece will be "old" and WSJ will allow access to non-subscribers.

[mu26aeh]

Try this.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fwhy-railroads-cant-keep-enough-boxcars-in-service-1434879182&ei=nAyJVZ4lj5LJBJqOhoAO&usg=AFQjCNHtOnt6SrAQZ1shW5kYZA5kaAHvGQ&sig2=v5Ju4MqjoMcJIHJ-3428hA&bvm=bv.96339352,d.aWw&cad=rja

I was able to read it with link wm-webb provided

[Jesse6669]

Interesting.. Why doesn't GP invest in their own boxcars?  And does a rebuild put a new 50 year time stamp on the cars?

[trainforfun]

They say the cost of a boxcar is $ 135,000 , I would have expect more than that , what do you think ?

At this price an N scale car should cost $ 0.03 ( $ 135,000 divided by 160 x 3 ! )

[Bob Bufkin]

Weird since I don't subscribe I was still able to read the story. 

[lock4244]

Interesting.. Why doesn't GP invest in their own boxcars?  And does a rebuild put a new 50 year time stamp on the cars?

Life is limited to 40 years. Life extension adds another ten. After that, either restricted to non-interchange or non-interchange AND non-revenue (can't recall which it is). I see a lot of CN boxcars, gons, and cylindrical hoppers with 'Ext. Life' stencils on them.

[reinhardtjh]

Meanwhile, the car manufacturers say they are devoting more assembly-line capacity and engineering resources to meeting a deluge of orders for tank cars to haul crude oil. “Tank cars are taking precedence over everything,” said Tom Jackson, vice president of marketing for Greenbrier. “The boxcar is not a top priority.”

There were more than 52,000 orders outstanding for tank cars at the end of the first quarter compared with just 4,363 orders for boxcars, said Railway Supply.

Yet crude is on a downturn.  NS has over 700 cars stored on the WNY&P, with almost half being brand new and have never seen a load.  Safety key concern for Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad

Highlights are:
    Oil car storage
     — Bakken oil cars parked on rail sidings across its system, including Olean, Hinsdale, Franklinville and Cuba
     — There are 700 empty Bakken cars on our railroad
     — 300 new, never used cars from Mexico
     — 400 MT Bakken oil cars treated with Nitrogen

[Robbman]

Life is limited to 40 years. Life extension adds another ten. After that, either restricted to non-interchange or non-interchange AND non-revenue (can't recall which it is). I see a lot of CN boxcars, gons, and cylindrical hoppers with 'Ext. Life' stencils on them.

50 years for cars built after July 1st 1974.  Rebuilding a car (Rule 88) older than that gets the ten year extension.  After 50 years they can apply for Extended Life Status for 5 year extensions over the 50, up to a max of 65.  This requires fatigue testing and annual inspections.