Railroad Freight Movement–Some New Concepts and Current Plans

There are a number of techniques that have established trends away from the traditional single-car shipment concept. They are: (1) trailer on flatcar; (2) container on flatcar; (3) minitrain; (4) unit train; and (5) volume movement. Several other techniques have established trends toward fewer switching yards in major urban centers. They are: (1) prior classification outside the destination area; (2) run-through trains; (3) consolidation and relocation of rail facilities farther from the city center; and (4) mergers and coordination between roads. As these techniques remove more and more of the large block movements from the switching load, and the volume of single-car shipments drops, it will be more and more difficult to give frequent service to these remaining single-car shipments on the one hand, and maintain train tonnages on the other. This may require more frequent switching or smaller trains.