the problem of "the pair"

[Iain]

I see the same Foster Farms hopper going to or from the port at least once a month.  However, I don't think it hauls grain anymore because grain hasn't been hauled out for at least five years.  Most likely it is in agrigate service, and it has been re-stenciled.

Highly doubtful it's in aggregate service.   

As far as I know, that is the only reason for covered hoppers going to the port these days.

[cv_acr]

Generally, aggregate==gravel or crushed rock, and there's no reason to put that in covered hoppers. Open hoppers do nicely.

There are a _lot_ of other things that can be hauled in covered hoppers other than grain. Any dry, bulk commodity that can't be exposed to the weather. Things like salt, potash, fertilizer, etc. are all hauled in covered hoppers. Once a car gets downgraded to this sort of service, it doesn't usually go back to food-grade clean lading for grain.

[lock4244]

Grain cars are almost all becoming pooled these days, lease and private... especially in the east.

In the hundreds and hundreds of NS grain trains I've seen over the years (either export to Norfolk or domestic to Harrisonburg or Greensboro)... I've never seen a grain train of entirely system hoppers (NS has bought many former lease fleet cars, I consider these system hoppers too), there's always been leasers or other roads' system hoppers in the mix.

Same in eastern Canada, though the it is rare to see any non system cars that aren't shipper or leaser cars. On CN, the Canadian Federal and Provincial Gov't cars are still very much present along with CN system cars (CN, IC, GTW, CC, WLO, WC, & DWC ex Cdn Gov't cars) making up the majority. Some Gov't cars with CTRW (Carlton Trail) show up, too, but I can't recall seeing many foreign roads. I have seen big blocks of AGP cars on a few CN grain train recently, along with the usual leasers. And there are the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool cars with UMP and WCRC reporting marks (though they don't seem that common).

Foreign road cars seem to run on regular freights; I don't think they are common on unit trains... at least not in Canada.

[Robbman]

Message deleted