Does a train car change companies en route?

[Wolfe Jet]

Hi all,

I’ve read a hundred ‘rail car’ threads but haven’t seen an answer to my question.

I’ve been able to get updates on my train car from NS from when I started tracking it in AZ to its current position in a yard in Chicago since Friday.

Does 1 company take it to final destination, or does it handoff in the Midwest when coming east?

I can be patient waiting in the big yard to link up with a train coming my way, just want to make sure I’m still calling the right number to obsessively check.

Thanks and can’t believe I’m just a few weeks away! (knocks wood, tosses salt over shoulder and spins around 3 times)

Sponsored

 

[commadorebob]

Yes, railcars are routinely interchanged between carriers. Most of the rail companies operate within segments of the country. So, if the railcar is originally on CSX but needs to be delivered in Norfolk-Southern territory, there will be a handoff.

 

[Mabcim]

I tracked mine all the way using the NS phone number. I’m pretty sure it is not a NS train that leaves the plant. Maybe the final rail company gets all tracking
Either way, you should be able to use the NS, all the way to the final ramp.

Mine was the Chicago area for a while; almost a week. I believe that is a large junction. Get de-coupled from the original train, then gets scheduled for the one taking it the rest of way.

 

[bwf4]

I tracked mine all the way using the NS phone number. I’m pretty sure it is not a NS train that leaves the plant. Maybe the final rail company gets all tracking
Either way, you should be able to use the NS, all the way to the final ramp.

Mine was the Chicago area for a while; almost a week. I believe that is a large junction. Get de-coupled from the original train, then gets scheduled for the one taking it the rest of way.

Mine was in Chicago area for a week as well. It looks like you are in Rochester, NY, I'm in Syracuse. How long after your Railcar got to Buffalo did your truck make it's way to the dealer?

 

[Mabcim]

Mine was in Chicago area for a week as well. It looks like you are in Rochester, NY, I'm in Syracuse. How long after your Railcar got to Buffalo did your truck make it's way to the dealer?

4 calendar days. Got to Buffalo on a Thursday and Ford showed it at the dealer on Monday.

 

[Mabcim]

Mine was in Chicago area for a week as well. It looks like you are in Rochester, NY, I'm in Syracuse. How long after your Railcar got to Buffalo did your truck make it's way to the dealer?

Looking at Vechile History report closer, it arrived in Buffalo on a Wednesday 6:30am, but marked as received on Thursday 3:20pm. So it seems it took a day+ to unload the railcar.

 

[NJBob]

Mine left the Factory on the 8th. It's in NM this morningthe 12. Kinda interesting the route it takes. Probably headed to Newark NJ. Dealer is in NY. Just over the border from NJ.

 

[Joe Kelly]

4 calendar days. Got to Buffalo on a Thursday and Ford showed it at the dealer on Monday.

TRAIN CARS CAN CHANGE TRAINS IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS COMING OUT OF MEXICO THERE WILL BE A CUSTOMS CHECK AT THE BORDER. PROBABLY BE DROPPED BY THE MEXICAN RAIL COMPANY THEN PICKED UP BY A US CARRIER THEN IF IT WENT TO CHICAGO IT PROBABLY CHANGED CARRIERS IN TOPEKA KANSAS. IT PROBABLY DIDN'T GO THROUGH ST LOUIS BUT IF IT DID IT WOULD HAVE PERHAPS CHANGED IN EAST ST LOUIS. IN ORDER TO FOLLOW YOU TRUCK YOU NEED THE BILL OF LADING NUMBER OR A PRO-NUMBER. I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE FREIGHT BUSINESS FOR 15 YEARS. ONCE YOU ARE IN THE RAIL SYSTEM YOU ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE RR'S. WHEN I FOLLOWED FREIGH FROM THE WEST COAST IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING. THE ISSUES GO BACK TO THE 1850'S AAND THIS IS WHY TRUCKS DO WELL. A TRUCK WITH A TEAM TRUCK CAN MAKE IT FROM LA TO ST. LOUIS IN LESS THAN 2 DAYS DOOR TO DOOR. BY THE WAY ITAND THE ROUTE AND CARRIERS SHOULD BE ON THAT DOCUMENT. APPEARS YOU ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THE SHIPPING DOCUMENT GOOD LUCK

 

[Mabcim]

TRAIN CARS CAN CHANGE TRAINS IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS COMING OUT OF MEXICO THERE WILL BE A CUSTOMS CHECK AT THE BORDER. PROBABLY BE DROPPED BY THE MEXICAN RAIL COMPANY THEN PICKED UP BY A US CARRIER THEN IF IT WENT TO CHICAGO IT PROBABLY CHANGED CARRIERS IN TOPEKA KANSAS. IT PROBABLY DIDN'T GO THROUGH ST LOUIS BUT IF IT DID IT WOULD HAVE PERHAPS CHANGED IN EAST ST LOUIS. IN ORDER TO FOLLOW YOU TRUCK YOU NEED THE BILL OF LADING NUMBER OR A PRO-NUMBER. I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE FREIGHT BUSINESS FOR 15 YEARS. ONCE YOU ARE IN THE RAIL SYSTEM YOU ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE RR'S. WHEN I FOLLOWED FREIGH FROM THE WEST COAST IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING. THE ISSUES GO BACK TO THE 1850'S AAND THIS IS WHY TRUCKS DO WELL. A TRUCK WITH A TEAM TRUCK CAN MAKE IT FROM LA TO ST. LOUIS IN LESS THAN 2 DAYS DOOR TO DOOR. BY THE WAY ITAND THE ROUTE AND CARRIERS SHOULD BE ON THAT DOCUMENT. APPEARS YOU ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THE SHIPPING DOCUMENT GOOD LUCK

Once it ships, you ask the dealer for the Vehicle Visibility Report. That has the rail car number (don’t know of people having much luck getting the rail car number from the Ford customer service number). You call an automated phone number for updates. The Ford customer service number has the most recent line in the Visibilty report, but the rail phone number is more detailed. Once I took delivery I asked the final copy of the Visibility Report. That’s what I referred to, to help answer the poster’s question.

 

[Mabcim]

Mine left the Factory on the 8th. It's in NM this morningthe 12. Kinda interesting the route it takes. Probably headed to Newark NJ. Dealer is in NY. Just over the border from NJ.

Your window sticker has the Ramp on it. There is thread with a list of what cities the ramps map to.

 

[NJBob]

Thanks mine is RT41 which is NY. I don't see any other codes on the sticker. But They may call it NY but I would bet it's in NJ. That's where all the railyards are for my area. Port Newark. Thank you for the info.

 

[NJBob]

Have to comment. I have a 2003 MR2 with a sequential manual transmission which has an issue. The only guy I found that could fix it was in Michigan, I am in NJ. The transport company seemed dubious. They lost one of the ramps they use to load the car and used a metal sign post as a ramp. Well I put one of those smart tags in it. Could track it at every step in almost real time. Worked great but scary when you think of it.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Looking at Vechile History report closer, it arrived in Buffalo on a Wednesday 6:30am, but marked as received on Thursday 3:20pm. So it seems it took a day+ to unload the railcar.

Once it's spotted and released the receiving company, they have a certain time to unload the rail car. If it takes longer time to unload than that allotted, the receiving company will have to pay a daily fee until it's unloaded. Cannot remember but when I and another helper aka swamper had two or three days to hand unload a box car of random length lumber and unload it into bins at the lumber yards. I vividly remember one day when we got to spur there were three cars spotted that am so I had to work a week from light to dark and had a couple days of demurrage (late day rate) and the last day working on that car the railroad spotted a car of cedar shingles (standard car held 404 squares (1616 bundles)).

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Have to comment. I have a 2003 MR2 with a sequential manual transmission which has an issue. The only guy I found that could fix it was in Michigan, I am in NJ. The transport company seemed dubious. They lost one of the ramps they use to load the car and used a metal sign post as a ramp. Well I put one of those smart tags in it. Could track it at every step in almost real time. Worked great but scary when you think of it.

One of those square ones that read "stop"?

 

[NJBob]

One of those square ones that read "stop"?

Lol think it actually said no parking. It had a steel round pole not one of those green ones that you bang in the ground. He had other large cars on the carrier that he said he used the sign on them. It worked out but was probably a mistake. MR2 weighs abut 2000 pounds.

Sponsored