New Reefers...Wonder What They'll Look Like?

[Blazeman]

And how soon after delivery are they "tagged?"
https://www.progressiverailroading.com/union_pacific/news/Union-Pacific-to-acquire-1000-refrigerated-boxcars--55567?

[C855B]

These are 40 years old?:

[learmoia]

There are still a lot of old 57' Reefers running around.. I'm sure plenty are hitting 50 years, and apparently this business doesn't want to go to TOFC.

~Ian

[C855B]

Oh, no doubt on the 57-footers. I'm questioning the quoted assertion by the UP VP "... Existing cars are all at least 40 years old, ...". The ARMN fleet is... what?... 20 years? Some newer? Several have been through a rebuild program, too, which partially resets the clock.

I'm considering printing the article and making an issue of it at the next shareholders' meeting. However, the quote could be out of context and refers (reefers?) specifically to older cars being assigned to potato service. The newer cars could easily be restricted or preferred-assigned to the Salinas Valley and other West Coast produce service, like that train in my pic.

[learmoia]

Oh, no doubt on the 57-footers. I'm questioning the quoted assertion by the UP VP "... Existing cars are all at least 40 years old, ...". The ARMN fleet is... what?... 20 years? Some newer? Several have been through a rebuild program, too, which partially resets the clock.

I'm considering printing the article and making an issue of it at the next shareholders' meeting. However, the quote could be out of context and refers (reefers?) specifically to older cars being assigned to potato service. The newer cars could easily be restricted or preferred-assigned to the Salinas Valley and other West Coast produce service, like that train in my pic.

All (almost all) of the remaining 57' fleet are ARMN as well.. I could see the average age of UP's overall reefer fleet getting older..

But with 40 years, I think they meant the potato cars.. which is general service reefers.. almost all 57' .  We get the same cars for meat at Waterloo (some previously loaded with potatos) 

There may be some truth bending but not much..

~Ian

[Blazeman]

Another article that got to my inbox while I was on vacation (aborted trip to OBX by the way) covered the inability of shippers to use the intermodal strategy to combat truck driver supply problems.  In other words, the TOFC/COFC capacity has been exhausted by longer transit times and higher volumes.  RR's for years looked forward to the day when shippers would come running to them for intermodal work, but now that it's here, they can't simply add another car or ten to the train to cash in.

So UP, to their credit, opted to take things back to the old ways with actual rolling stock.  No drivers needed.  Consistent service is paramount then.

[jagged ben]

Another article that got to my inbox while I was on vacation (aborted trip to OBX by the way) covered the inability of shippers to use the intermodal strategy to combat truck driver supply problems.  In other words, the TOFC/COFC capacity has been exhausted by longer transit times and higher volumes.  RR's for years looked forward to the day when shippers would come running to them for intermodal work, but now that it's here, they can't simply add another car or ten to the train to cash in.
...

Because there aren't enough intermodal cars in circulation?  Because the trains are too long already?

(Article link?)

[C855B]

Any idea on what these new reefers would cost? I'm guesstimating we're talking about hundreds of millions for the size of the fleet being discussed. That's a lot of potatoes!

UP doesn't do anything small, I guess, but... crimeny!

[learmoia]

Who else maintains a fleet of 57' reefers these days?.. Seems like everyone has phased theirs out over the last 10 years.. (And BN has passed (some of) their new cars off to the leasors.. (who then pushed them off to the AOKs and NOKLs  of the world..)

I'm guessing this is a last minute reaction to the same problem other roads have been reacting to over the last 10 years..

(And if the business went TOFC, you don't want to get caught with a bunch of new cars that no one wants to load)

[cv_acr]

However, the quote could be out of context and refers (reefers?) specifically to older cars being assigned to potato service.

This. The quote is apparently excerpted from some larger report, and as such has any sort of context stripped away from it. Likely it deals with a specific service, not necessarily the entire UP fleet.

[cv_acr]

And BN has passed (some of) their new cars off to the leasors.. (who then pushed them off to the AOKs and NOKLs  of the world..)

AOK and NOKL basically *are* lease marks. (Greenbrier and Wells Fargo respectively.) I'm not quite sure of the methodolgy of using "railroad" vs. "X" marks but probably has something to do with care hire or usage or who the cars are leased to (a railroad or shipper). A lot of (formerly) First Union cars would rotate through FURX, NDYX, NOKL and SMW (and now WFRX) reporting marks (presumably) depending on changing lease conditions.

[learmoia]

It's a car hire thing.. The private car companies partner with short lines to use the RR marks to gain car hire revenue.. 

Actually the BNSF / TILX / Shortline could have been Trinity owned all along, and wore BNSF initials while under BNSF lease.

~Ian

[Blazeman]

Because there aren't enough intermodal cars in circulation?  Because the trains are too long already?

(Article link?)

Service has deteriorated so more trailer days required amidst a bump in demand, meaning there are no longer idle trailers that can be be assigned to this new business.  On top of that, hours of service rules being more strictly enforced via implementing electronic driver logs means drivers can't get that extra local delivery every day to handle the increased volume.  Trailers back up meaning the next shipment for that trailer can't get loaded as planned.

And CSX and NS are rationalizing ramps, meaning longer drays for some shipments, further jeopardizing service in the tight driver market.

[BruceStikkers]

I saw one article that said the cost was $250,000 per car-yes that is a lot of money.  With coal falling off and probably not coming back the railroads have to look around for more business. I hope the purchase of Railex makes a launch pad for more of this type of business.

Bruce Stikkers
St. Joseph, IL