A question on car loading.

[FCIN]

Of course with many private lease companies in the freight car business-including boxcars-this may change things in the coming years and may even lead to railroads owning less cars.

Hum?????? Good point Larry! I'm seeing more and more box cars, gons, etc. with private owner "X" markings on trains these days. Private car on private track - gee, no demurrage charges for the big boys! Change the rules and force the IPD cars almost out of existence, but someone still finds another way to play the game.

Be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.

[Brakie]

Of course with many private lease companies in the freight car business-including boxcars-this may change things in the coming years and may even lead to railroads owning less cars.

Hum?????? Good point Larry! I'm seeing more and more box cars, gons, etc. with private owner "X" markings on trains these days. Private car on private track - gee, no demurrage charges for the big boys! Change the rules and force the IPD cars almost out of existence, but someone still finds another way to play the game.

Be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.

And no freight car maintenance or costly car shops.

Not to get completely off topic but,I fully believe railroading we knew is fast becoming a relic of the past.

I may do a topic on this.

[Puddlejumper]

Not to get completely off topic but,I fully believe railroading we knew is fast becoming a relic of the past.

I may do a topic on this.

Please do. I'd very interested in reading that thread.

[FCIN]

Not to get completely off topic but,I fully believe railroading we knew is fast becoming a relic of the past.
I may do a topic on this.

I'm afraid you're right Larry. "The Times They Are A Changin".

Spending a lot of time at the NS yard in Danville, it's very apparent that will all the new rules and imposed regulations on the railroad industry, that it takes two or three times as long for crews to do their work then it did when I was "switchin' them cars". Noticed recently that crews are now required to wear yellow or pea green safety vests when working.

Might be fun to have a thread that goes into how things "used to be" compared to today. Gee, I even remember a time when the only graffiti you saw on a rail car was done with chalk! Remember Bozo Texino or Herbie, not to mention my favorite - Kilroy.

[goat]

Thanks Guys for the prompt answer.
It is just what I wanted the answer to be as I ran out of cars for an industry and IC flats are not easy to find.

[scubadude]

[goat]

Thanks again for the answers.
Now. Were these rules in effect in 1943 or was War Emergency rules any different.

[MountainMan]

No matter who owns the cars, someone has to maintain and repair them, so those costs must remain.

Given that the railroad that built and maintains the trackage has to pay for that, I can't see how privately owned cars are "free" in any sense of the word, since the majority of mainline trackage in America seems to be owned by a few large companies.

Obviously, if the privately owned cars belong to the railroad itself, then they are less costly, but again, not free.

Thew other thing that puzzles me is that my understanding of the "X" designation is that those cars are leased from a company rather than "privately owned", in which case the leasing company pays for the maintenance and repairs and passes the cost along to the leasees, who pass it along to their customers.

One way or another, somebody pays for everything. 8-)

[Brakie]

No matter who owns the cars, someone has to maintain and repair them, so those costs must remain.
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True,but,let's not forget the former railroad car shops that has closed or now operated by private freight car maintenance companies.Its cheaper in the long run for the railroads-doing away with thousands of car shop employees fattens the bottom line.

As far as lease cars RIP -there's the repair bill which is more money for the railroads including short lines. Heavy repair goes to contract car shops/re builders like Transco.

[MountainMan]

No matter who owns the cars, someone has to maintain and repair them, so those costs must remain.
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True,but,let's not forget the former railroad car shops that has closed or now operated by private freight car maintenance companies.Its cheaper in the long run for the railroads-doing away with thousands of car shop employees fattens the bottom line.

As far as lease cars RIP -there's the repair bill which is more money for the railroads including short lines. Heavy repair goes to contract car shops/re builders like Transco.

So they pay for repairs from a company which has to pay for the shops and equipment as well as the skilled repairmen and still show a profit - hard to see how this "fattens the bottom line" very much.

My experience has been that doing it yourself is almost always more economical that shopping it out. And the military has amply demonstrated that turning to private contractors has hugely increased their costs.

[Brakie]

No matter who owns the cars, someone has to maintain and repair them, so those costs must remain.
-----------------------------------------------
True,but,let's not forget the former railroad car shops that has closed or now operated by private freight car maintenance companies.Its cheaper in the long run for the railroads-doing away with thousands of car shop employees fattens the bottom line.

As far as lease cars RIP -there's the repair bill which is more money for the railroads including short lines. Heavy repair goes to contract car shops/re builders like Transco.

So they pay for repairs from a company which has to pay for the shops and equipment as well as the skilled repairmen and still show a profit - hard to see how this "fattens the bottom line" very much.

My experience has been that doing it yourself is almost always more economical that shopping it out. And the military has amply demonstrated that turning to private contractors has hugely increased their costs.

Look at the overall picture like the railroads do. No Union pay and benefits, no matching union pensions,no overhead like parts,upkeep on buildings,OSHA,EPA concerns etc and at the end of the year paying for car repairs can be a tax write off.

Eliminate thousands of jobs, overhead costs and yes,it will fatten the bottom line by a few millions.

[MountainMan]

I can see it working well for the small outfits, but the big ones that always have cars and locos shopped out...

However, I bow to the superior wisdom of countless nameless accountants working in windowless basement rooms. 8-)

[Brakie]

However, I bow to the superior wisdom of countless nameless accountants working in windowless basement rooms.
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These bean counters has changed the overall railroad picture and still they're not happy..Says the bean counters to the management why used 2 men train crews when all you need is one? Ugh!

Time will tell if that comes to pass.