Nov 9, 2001
I finally had some time to get back to compiling a timeline of early
TOFC/COFC from news reports and feature articles in Railway Age and I
have now finished the 1950s, which was the era that intermodal realy
took off. For those who might be interested I have broken it down
into several magagable chunks. Here is Pt 1, with the others to
follow separately. Enjoy- Jim
1950s Intermodal Pt 1
1951
ATSF converts two 53ft flatcars for TOFC experiments (class Ft-L)
1952
- Rail-Trailer founded by Eugene Ryan to promote TOFC service and
provide consulting on design and operations for railroads seeking to
offer TOFC service
- B&O begins Time Saver LCL TOFC service in December
- C&EI begins LCL TOFC service
- CN begins LCL TOFC service between Montreal-Toronto in December;
uses converted 52ft flats
- CP begins LCL TOFC service between Montreal-Toronto in December;
uses converted 48ft flats
- Detroit & Mackinac ???
_._
1953
- EMD builds an experimental depressed-center, side-loading 75-foot
flat capable of handling two 35-foot trailers on low-clearance
routes; EMD also builds a conventional straight-deck car that becomes
CGW 1
- Pullman-Standard designs a flush-deck side-loading 75-foot flat;
never goes into production
- Van-Car, a subsidiary of Rail-Trailer, announces plans to build a
fleet of 500 side-loading TOFC flats for lease to railroads
- Term "Piggyback" objected to by some railroad executives as being undignified
- ARR begins handling common-carrier trailers TOFC seasonally
- B&O considers extending service to New York market via RDG-CNJ
- CN expands TOFC service to Hamilton in July
- C&NW begins LCL TOFC service between Chicago-Green Bay in August;
expands service to Twin Cities and Omaha in November, Milwaukee in
December; uses converted 53ft flats
- NYNH&H carries over 50,000 LCL, common-carrier, and shipper-owned
trailers in its Trailiner TOFC service in 1953, generating almost $2
million in revenue; wins permanent injunction in April prohibiting
Teamsters Union boycott of its terminals; NH asks ICC to clarify
position on 20 questions regarding rates and what kind of traffic may
be carried by TOFC: railroad-solicited using railroad-supplied
equipment, common-carrier trucker, private and contract trucker, and
freight-forwarder
- SP/T&NO begins LCL TOFC service between Houston-Lake Charles in
May; begins trailer-load service between Los Angeles-San Francisco in
July for Pacific Motor Trucking
- UP begins LCL and trailer-load TOFC service between Los Angeles-Las
Vegas in August; extended to Salt Lake City in November, mainly to
handle steel from US Steel's Geneva Works that had been lost to
trucks; uses converted 53ft flats
_._
1954
- ICC suspends proposed TOFC trailer-load tariffs of B&O, DL&W, ERIE,
LV, NKP, PRR and WAB in June due to protest by motor carriers; lifts
suspension in July pending hearings; rules in August on 12 of the 20
questions submitted by NH; key rulings are that movement of
railroad-owned trailers via TOFC does not require a motor carrier
certificate and that common-carrier, private-carrier, and
freight-forwarder traffic may be carried with restrictions; way
finally cleared for explosive growth of piggyback service
- Pullman designs an all-purpose side and end-loading TOFC car with
elevating deck to reduce clearances; never goes into production
- GM announces that it will not build its TOFC design but will
license other firms to do so; never goes into production
- Piggy-Back Inc. formed to develop the French Clejan system for the
North American market
- Canadian Rail Van Systems tests new container that locks to the
flatcar and trailer chassis as with later ISO container systems
- ATSF begins LCL and trailer-load TOFC service between
Chicago-Kansas City and Los Angeles-San Diego in November; tests an
experimental flatcar-mounted bilevel autorack developed by Evans
- B&O begins trailer-load TOFCEE service in July; uses converted 41
and 53ft flats
- CB&Q begins LCL TOFC service; builds ten 75-foot flats using
Commonwealth cast steel underframes
- C&EI begins trailer-load TOFC service between Chicago-St. Louis and
Chicago-Evansville
- C&NW begins trailer-load TOFC service between Chicago-Green Bay in
March; expands service between Twin Cities-Duluth/Superior in May
- CN begins trailer-load TOFC service in July
- CP begins trailer-load TOFC service in January
- DL&W begins LCL TOFC service between Newark-Buffalo in June; begins
trailer-load service in July and service extended to Cleveland,
Chicago and St. Louis via NKP, and to Detroit and Chicago via WAB;
uses 40ft flats rebuilt from retired gondolas
- ERIE begins trailer-load TOFC service between Jersey City-Chicago
in July; uses converted 45 and 53ft flats; orders 75ft flats from
Bethlehem Steel Car for delivery in January 1955
- GN begins LCL TOFC service between Twin Cities-Duluth-Superior in
May, trailer-load service in September; uses converted 52 and 54ft
flats
- KCS begins trailer-load TOFC service in September between
Dallas-Shreveport-New Orleans; later expands service to Kansas City;
uses converted 41 and 52ft flats
- LV begins trailer-load TOFC service between Newark-Buffalo and to
Cleveland and Chicago via NKP in July; uses converted 50ft flats
- MKT begins LCL, trailer-load, and common-carrier TOFC service
between Kansas City-Oklahoma City in July, later expands to St.
Louis, Tulsa and Dallas; uses converted 40ft flats
- NKP begins trailer-load TOFC service between
Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo in July and to New York via DL&W and LV;
uses converted 43 and 53ft flats
- NP begins LCL TOFC service in August, trailer-load in October;
uses converted 50 and 53ft flats
- NYC contracts Rail-Trailer in January to develop New York City and
Boston-Chicago TOFC service using dedicated piggyback trains of
75-foot cars; service set to begin in October; A.E. Pearlman elected
President of NYC in June; NYC announces in October that TOFC service
will be "held in abeyance" pending further study, Early Bird service
promoted instead
- NYNH&H and US Post Office conduct trials of TOFC mail service; TOFC
traffic in solid trains when volume warrants
- PRR begins LCL and trailer-load Truc Train service between Jersey
City-Newark-Philadelphia-Pittsburgh-Chicago in July; extends service
to St. Louis in December; uses converted 50-foot flats (class F30D);
leases first 200 75ft TOFC flats (class F39) capable of hauling two
35-foot trailers from Van-Car; moves 1,330 trailers in first year
- SLSF tests Railiner COFC containers
- SP/T&NO begins LCL TOFC service between Houston-Dallas/Ft. Worth
- SSW begins trailer-load TOFC service in September carrying
Southwestern Transportation Co. trailers
- UP expands TOFC service between Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming
stations in May-July; begins interline service with SP in October;
tests an experimental flatcar-mounted bilevel autorack developed by
Evans
- Wabash begins LCL and trailer-load TOFC service between
Buffalo-Detroit-Chicago and St. Louis in July; hauls 381 trailers
that year; uses converted 53ft flats
End of Part 1
1950s Intermodal Pt 2
1955
- ICC issues final ruling upholding TOFC common carrier truck-load
rates (Plan I) of B&O, DL&W, ERIE, NKP, PRR, WAB; suspends a C&EI
tariff that allowed a discount for shippers draying their own
trailers, and free return of empties
- Clark Mobilvan formed by Rail-Trailer to market COFC containers
developed by Clark Equipment; Fruehauf to produce containers, which
lock to the car and trailer chassis; Clark to produce forklift trucks
to handle loading
- Dry ice and mechanical cooling of trailers tested on ATSF, B&O,
C&EI, CGW, LV-NKP, NP, and UP
- ARR orders 24ft marine/rail containers for ship-COFC-truck service
- ATSF expands service Chicago-Denver; begins interline TOFC service
with GN via WP at Stockton in May; expands service between
California-Arizona-New Mexico-Texas in August
- B&O extends TOFCEE service to Washington, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis,
Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Toledo in March; establishes interline
service with C&NW in December
- CI&L (Monon) begins Trailer-Maid TOFC service between
Chicago-Louisville and Chicago-Indianapolis in January, interline
movements with C&NW and NKP; uses converted 38-foot flats
- C&NW begins trailer-load service between Chicago-Twin Cities in
February; begins service to St. Louis via Litchfield & Madison and to
Louisville via CI&L in June; establishes interline service with B&O,
DL&W, GN, LV, NKP, PRR, RDG, UP, WAB, WM
- CN extends TOFC service Toronto-London in August
- CP extends TOFC service Toronto-London in August; operates separate
service in West
- DL&W adds terminal to serve Elmira/Corning in April; extends
service via NYS&W in December
- ERIE adds service to Cleveland and Youngstown in March; interlines
with C&NW and ATSF in December; tests NH Clejan cars in June
- GN extends TOFC service Fargo-Minot; establishes interline service
with CB&Q, C&NW, SOO in the East, in the West with SP and WP-ATSF via
the Inside Gateway at Bieber in May
- IC begins TOFC service between Chicago-Memphis in June; uses
converted 40 and 50ft flats
- L&N begins TOTE (Trailer On Train Express) service between
Louisville-Birmingham-New Orleans in August
- M&StL begins tRAILer TOFC service between St. Paul-Peoria in
November; adds Twin Cities-St. Louis and interlines with WAB in
December; uses converted 50 flats
- NKP establishes interline service with P&WV-WM-RDG, C&NW, UP, SSW,
T&NO/SP, SLSF, CI&L (MON)
- NYNH&H builds two prototype 75-foot Clejan cars designed by
Piggy-Back, Inc; begins testing the cars in Trailiner service in
February; cars also tested by Erie, MKT, SP and UP; NH buys its first
trailers (has only carried common-carrier, contract and shipper
trailers before)
- N&W establishes interline common-carrier TOFC service with PRR
between New York-Philadelphia-Roanoke via Hagerstown in November, the
first interline of common-carrier trailers.
- NP TOFC service covers Twin Cities-Duluth/Superior, Twin
Cities-Fargo, Seattle-Tacoma-Portland, and interline with SP
- PRR begins common-carrier Truc Train service in March; hauls 944
common-carrier and 1,220 railroad trailers in May; extends TOFC
service to Cleveland-Indianapolis-Louisville in June; interline
service established with N&W in November and with C&NW in December;
builds 300 more 75-foot flats in 1955-56; investment to date is $5
million in cars, $500,000 in terminals
- P&WV mainly bridges TOFC traffic between RDG-WM-NKP, but does have
its own modified flats and trailers
- RDG begins trailer-load TOFC service between
Philadelphia/Camden-Chicago via WM-P&WV-NKP in January; extends to
E.St. Louis in April; uses converted 46ft gondolas
- SLSF begins TOFC service between St. Louis and Kansas City to
Dallas/Fort Worth in the summer; Tulsa and Oklahoma City added in
October; uses converted 42-foot flats
- Soo Line begins LCL TOFC service between Twin Cities-Neenah/Menasha
in March; uses converted 40 and 50-foot flatcars and 24-foot trailers
- SP/T&NO expands TOFC service between San Francisco-Ukia and San
Francisco-Portland and to Seattle via NP in February; also interlines
with SSW, GN and UP; operates TOFC service over more than 7,500 route
miles from Portland to New Orleans; moves 37,736 trailers in first 9
months of 1955
- T&P begins hauling shipper-owned trailers TOFC between Fort
Worth-Odessa for Armour & Co that summer
- UP begins handling Armour & Co trailers between Omaha-Kearny;
begins interline service between Chicago-Denver via C&NW and St.
Louis-Denver via WAB in July
- Wabash interlines with DL&W, LV, C&NW, ATSF, UP; orders 20 75-foot
flats from PRR and builds 50 more
- WM mainly bridges TOFC traffic between RDG-P&WV-NKP, but it does
have its own converted flats and trailers
- WP begins TOFC service in May mainly as interline link between
GN-ATSF via the Inside Gateway Bieber-Stockton, but does have its own
converted 56ft flats and trailers
- Trailer Train formed in November by PRR, N&W and Rail-Trailer to
supply standardized TOFC equipment to member/owner railroads
End of Part 2
1950s Intermodal Pt 3
1956
- ICC upholds use of private shipper-supplied trailers in February (Plan III)
- ACF introduces a reliable collapsible hitch making TOFC service
more practical, economical, and standardized
- ACF introduces 38-foot 2-axle Adapto cars for TOFC and
containerized freight, and Lodapto cars for TOFC on low clearance
routes; teams up with Clark Mobilvan to develop 17 and 35-foot
containers for the system, including dry boxes, reefers, top-loading
bulk boxes, bulkhead pallets and gondolas, even auto racks are
tested; also teams up with Fruehauf to offer combined Adapto-trailer
marketing deal
- Pullman-Standard fields its own experimental 2-axle car as well;
never enters production
- Malcolm McLean founds Sea-Land and begins using standardized
containers for maritime shipping
- Clark Mobilvan introduces 21-foot aluminum exterior-post container
manufactured by Fruehauf; Spector Freight System uses them COFC via
PRR Truc Train
- North American Car and Hormel test refrigerated Clark Mobilvan
containers on the MILW between Austin, MN-Chicago; the 475cuft
containers are cooled by dry ice but have electric circulating fans,
built by Highway; MILW flat cars fitted with deck locks and axle belt
driven generators
- Piggy-Back Inc forms Piggy-Back Service Corp to offer TOFC terminal
services for Clejan cars
- First TOFC transcontinental through rates go into effect November 1
- TOFC volume up over 1955: 24% on SP, 40% on PRR, 47% on DL&W, 60%
on CB&Q, 83% on the Wabash
- ATSF establishes interline TOFC service with CB&Q, M&StL, SP, WAB
- B&LE begins interline TOFC service from Butler and Pittsburgh to
New York, Louisville, St. Louis via MON, NKP, DL&W, LV; uses
converted 50ft flats
- B&M begins TOFC service between
Boston-Buffalo-Cleveland-Chicago-St. Louis via
D&H-ERIE/DL&W/LV-NKP/WAB ; uses converted 45ft flats; orders Clejan
cars, order later canceled
- CNJ begins interline TOFC service to Chicago via RDG-B&O
- C&NW extends LCL service Chicago-Rockford & Beloit; establishes
interline TOFC service with ATSF, MKT, SLSF, SSW, SP
- CN expands service to Toronto-Windsor
- C&O begins testing Railvan trailers equipped with rail wheels
(forerunner of RoadRailer)
- DL&W establishes interline service to New England via L&NE-NYNH&H
- ERIE orders 50 Clejan cars from P-S for through service with NH
- GN and NP begin pool handling parcel-post mail by TOFC between
Duluth-St. Paul
- IC extends TOFC service between Chicago-New Orleans in June,
handles coffee beans from Brazil; expands to Chicago-St. Louis in
November; publishes tariff for shipper-owned trailers
- KCS interlines with CB&Q; orders 50 Clejan cars from P-S to expand
TOFC service
- MP begins COFC service between St. Louis-Kansas City in January;
uses unmodified gondolas, 32x8x8 containers, and gantry crane
loading; also offers limited TOFC service; uses converted 40-50ft
flats and TTX flats
- NYNH&H first road to adopt Clejan system; 200 79-foot cars
delivered from P-S in July
- PRR's Pittsburgh ramp is handling 80 trailers per day, ramp is
expanded; service expanded to other terminals; sets record of
handling 1,000 common carrier trailers per week, carries trailers of
28 motor freight companies; interline service expanded to ATSF, MKT,
SLSF, SSW
- RI orders 50 Adapto cars and a variety of Convert-A-Freight
containers for COFC service
- Soo Line expands TOFC service between Minneapolis-Chicago
- SP decides to use Clejan system; SP and UP interline between
California-Oregon
- US Army Transportation Corps conducts TOCF/COFC tests using 75-foot
PRR Truc Train cars and ACF Adapto cars
- Trailer Train begins service March 1 with 500 75-foot PRR flats and
orders 330 more cars; tests ACF and Pullman 2-axle cars, orders 1,000
ACF Adapto cars but order is later canceled; B&M, CB&Q, MKT, MP,
SLSF, and WAB join; CB&Q and WAB sell their 75-foot cars to Trailer
Train
_._
1957
- Roy Fruehauf predicts: "The railroad boxcar is now on the way to
the Smithsonian Institution. I think piggy-back will replace
practically every boxcar in the country.... Every Class I railroad
will offer piggy-back service within the next several years."
- ICC upholds rates for shipper-owned trailers in TOFC service (Plan III)
- Fruehauf and Piggy-Back Inc introduce containers in July for COFC
use with Clejan cars; tested on SP
- Pullman-Standard and Trailmobile develop competing PAT container
system for COFC service
- Contrans operates Plan IV (shipper-owned rail car and
trailer/container) COFC service
- First transcontinental TOFC shipments: two printing presses shipped
from Hoboken to San Francisco via DL&W-WAB-ATSF, and Hoboken to Santa
Anna via DL&W-NKP-SSW-T&NO-SP; pharmaceutical shipment via
DL&W-NKP-SSW-T&NO-SP
- B&O expands interline TOFC service to Omaha, Denver, Billings via
ATSF, C&NW, CB&Q-C&S, CRI&P, M&StL, MP, UP, WAB
- C&NW begins common-carrier TOFC service between Chicago-Twin Cities
in June using TTX 75ft flats; later expands service to Council Bluffs
and Sioux City
- CN and CP begin common-carrier TOFC service with 8 trucking
companies between Montreal-Toronto in September
- C&O tests Railvan trailers in mail service between Detroit-Grand
Rapids in December
- CRI&P negotiating with western trucking companies PIE and CF to
provide common-carrier TOFC service between Denver-Chicago, Kansas
City and St. Louis
- ERIE begins common-carrier service between New England-Chicago via
the NYNH&H in January using Clejan cars
- FEC begins TOFC service between Miami-Jacksonville
- IC expands TOFC service to Jackson, Mississippi
- KCS begins using Clejan cars
- M&StL begins common-carrier TOFC service
- NYC experiments with prototype single-unit Flexi-Van car developed
by Fruehauf-owned Strick Trailers; places $8 million order for its
first 150 Mark I two-unit Flexi-Van side-loading COFC cars, 900
containers, and 150 bogies; will handle only railroad-solicited
service and equipment (Plan II), will not handle competing
common-carrier traffic (Plan I)
- SP builds its first 150 79ft Clejan cars and orders 830 trailers;
tests containers for COFC service on Clejan cars; begins
common-carrier service between Los Angeles-San Francisco-Portland
with three western truck lines
- Trailer Train begins fitting 200 existing 75ft flats with ACF
hitches; begins converting 286 PRR 50ft flats with ACF hitches to
carry single 40-foot trailers (class F30G); issues design
specifications for 85-foot flats capable of handling two 40-footers
or one 40 and one 45-footer (class F85); C&NW joins Trailer Train
End of Part 3
1950s Intermodal Pt 4
1958
- ACF rolls out first 85ft TOFC flat
- General American Transportation Corp purchases Piggyback Inc to
acquire Clejan system
- Railiner side-loading container system introduced by Southern Car &
manufacturing; tested by B&M
- Stick develops 17.5ft Stricktainer system that can be handled 2 per
35ft chassis or using Flexi-Van bogies
- Seatrain develops 35ft Seamobile intermodal container system
- Matson using Trailmobile 24ft marine-rail-truck containers between
California-Hawaii
- Two freight consolidators/forwarders, Republic Carloading and U.S.
Freight's Universal Carloading, lease their own Clejan cars for Plan
IV TOFC service (shipper-supplied rail car and trailer/container) ;
Acme Fast Freight, National Carloading, and Clipper Carloading plan
similar service; ICC suspends some Plan III and IV tariffs in August
pending judgment
- US Freight Joins Trailer Train to lease TOFC cars; buys Flexi-Van
containers and bogies for use on NYC lines
- Ringsby, a common carrier trucking company, acquires forwarder
rights of Interstate Express and orders 15 cars and 50 containers to
offer Flexi-Van service
- ABC Freight Forwarding begins "Speed Van" Plan IV COFC service
between NYC (Elizabethport, NJ) and Baltimore via B&O
- American President Lines acquires Flexi-Van containers for
international rail-marine service
- REA Express uses New Haven's TOFC service between Boston-NYC
- Alaska RR, Alaska Steamship Co, and Garrison Fast Freight using
24ft containers and 40ft truck trailers in joint intermodal service
- ATSF builds 25 88-foot TOFC flats (class Ft-11) capable of handling
two 40ft trailers
- B&O and CB&Q handle trailers of Swift Packing between Omaha and
Philadelphia as Plan III (shipper-supplied trailer/container only)
service
- CB&Q buys 100 Flexi-Van containers and bogies for joint TOFC/COFC
service with NYC; hauls TOFC loads on overnight local head-end
passenger trains Denver-Chicago and Omaha-Kansas City, handles up to
17 trailers Den-Chi nightly
- Florida East Coast begins common carrier trailer load (Plan I) TOFC service
- IC expands its Plan II (railroad supplied equipment) TOFC service
to Omaha and Sioux City
- L&N begins interline TOFC service; handles 844 TOFC carloads in 1958
- Maine Central begins common carrier (Plan I) TOFC service
- Milwaukee Road, already handling meat in refrigerated Clark
Mobilvan containers for Hormel, begins Flexi-Van COFC service in
December
- MP begins using 35ft refrigerated containers in COFC service
- NYC begins Flexi-Van COFC service in April between North Bergen,
NJ-Chicago; expands service to most of NYC/P&LE system by November
- RI converts 250 52-foot war-emergency composite gons for TOFC service
- SLSF hauls first interline TOFC between Chicago-Pennsicola
- SP orders 150 85ft Clejan cars from GATC; establishes interline
service to Seattle and Tacoma via NP, and Chicago-Oakland via
RI-D&RGW for common carrier Plan I traffic of Consolidated
Freightways, which sparks court challenge by Teamsters unions; tests
auto carrier trailers in TOFC service in conjunction with GM
- Trailer Train orders 800 85-foot flats from ACF and
Pullman-Standard; B&O, RI and U.S. Freight (a freight consolidator
and forwarder) join Trailer Train
_._
1959
- ICC authorizes Plan III tariffs for freight forwarders
- General American introduces G-85 85ft TOFC flat capable of handling
both conventional and Clejan-equipped trailers and containers
- States Marine Lines orders Flexi-Van containers for international
rail-marine service
- REA Express uses PRR Truc Train TOFC service between Philadelphia-Chicago
- TOFC shipment of new automobiles using semi-trailer auto carriers
begun by SP, WP, and Frisco; other roads soon follow during 1959-60
in an effort to lure auto traffic-all but lost to trucks by 1959-to
return to the rails, including CB&Q, C&NW, D&H, D&RGW, ERIE/EL, GN,
KCS, L&N, MILW, MKT, MP/TP, NP, RI, SSW, WAB and UP; NYC tests two
different Flexi-Van auto carriers and later begins revenue auto
service as well
- ACL joins Trailer Train and begins TOFC service between Alexandria,
VA-Jacksonville, FL via RF&P
- ATSF acquires Flexi-Vans and bogies; converts 200 44ft flats into
100 permanently coupled pairs for TOFC service
- BAR moves loaded gasoline tanker trailers in TOFC service
- C&O begins TOFC service between Detroit-Chicago in February;
handles TOFC flats on passenger train "George Washington" between
Staunton, VA-Charleston, WV; begins RoadRailer service in May between
Grand Rapids-Traverse City; expands service to Detroit in November
- CN orders new 46-foot single-trailer flats equipped with ACF
hitches from NSC; offers international interline TOFC service via
DL&W; handles loaded local delivery trucks (as opposed to trailers)
TOFC between Moncton, NB and Halifax, NS
- CP orders new 46-foot single-trailer TOFC flats equipped with ACF
hitches from NSC; tests GMD prototype two-axle TOFC flat; handles
TOFC loads on passenger trains between Winnipeg-Ft. William, ON
- MILW handles conventional interline TOFC
- MP orders 20 40ft Flexi-Van containers and bogies for TOFC/COFC
interchange with NYC
- PGE handles TOFC traffic between North Vancouver and the Alaska Highway
- SAL joins Trailer Train and begins TOFC service between
NYC-Philadelphia-Baltimore-Miami via B&O and PRR
- Vermont shortline Springfield Terminal ships first TOFC load
- Wabash leases 10 40ft refrigerated trailers
- WP begins common carrier (Plan I) TOFC service between Oakland-Salt
Lake City for PIE, Garrett, and Interstate
- Trailer Train takes delivery of its first 85-foot TOFC flats from
ACF and Pullman; ACL, GM&O, IC, L&N, NKP, SAL, SSW and WP join
- Additional 85ft TOFC flats ordered by C&O, CRI&P, D&RGW, ERIE, FEC,
GN, NP, PFE, SOO, SP, SSW, UP, WM, WP, and North American Car
_._
1960
- Pullman delivers a prototype trilevel autorack car to the Frisco in
January, followed by 130 production cars; by the end of the year over
1,200 autoracks are in service or on order; railroads' share of auto
traffic climbs from low of only 8% in 1959 to over 20% in 1961; TOFC
movement of new automobiles rapidly declines and ends by 1962 as
sufficient autoracks are delivered
- Pullman introduces it's 87ft Lo-Deck low-level flat for TOFC and
autorack service on low-clearance lines
- US Mail handled in Flexi-Vans on passenger runs on IC, MILW and NYC
- B&O begins using 75 35ft containers in its TOFCEE service; loading
is by wheeled straddle loaders; used on low-clearaance line to St.
Louis and interchanged with Mopac, which also uses containers
- CN hauls TOFC loads on passenger trains between Moncton-St. John, NB
- ATSF, C&O, MILW, DT&I, GN, KCS, NP, RF&P, SP, Southern, T&P, TP&W
and UP join Trailer Train
_._
--
Jim Eager
TRAILER TRAINS & TOFC
BACK TO AAR FLATCARS
© S.A. McCall