[Eventually...Chicago]

If you take the entire loaded weight of a typical freight train and divide it over the amount of gasoline it uses…
Freight trains, on average, move one ton of material 423 miles on one gallon of gas.

I ran across this tidbit, i thought some people here would appreciate it!

[JBinCalgary]

not to mention the amount of trucks it takes of the highway.
when we leave calgary for edmonton its about 240 odd running miles. 12000 ft, most containers travel in five packs. hold ten containers and are 260 feet in length. so thats about 460 trucks off the road

[lubicon]

not to mention the amount of trucks it takes of the highway.
when we leave calgary for edmonton its about 240 odd running miles. 12000 ft, most containers travel in five packs. hold ten containers and are 260 feet in length. so thats about 460 trucks off the road

JB, are you serious about the distance being 240 miles?? The highway is only about 300km (180 miles). Do the tracks really run that tortuous of a routing to add 60 miles to the trip??

And not to nitpick but trains don't burn any gas whatsoever. They (N America) pretty much all run on diesel.

[JBinCalgary]

im positive, we only run to mirror. edmonton crews take it from there, when i go to work tommorw i will verify that. damn now you got me thinkin, as a matter of fact its is over 95.1 from edmonton to mirror and 126 from calgary to mirror
http://www.railpictures.net/images/0/09180102.JPG.31138.jpg

http://www.railpictures.net/images/images2/b/basque.jpg.76611.jpg

[Eventually...Chicago]

And not to nitpick but trains don't burn any gas whatsoever. They (N America) pretty much all run on diesel.

Diesel engines burn diesel gas. Actually they all use diesel-electric hybrids now. Except maybe in europe where i think they are electric supplied by overhead lines.

Oh, your location tag is funny! :)

[Matt]

Indeed, freight trains can move an incredible amount of freight versus trucks, but they are underutilized in North American freight logistics. This is partly due to the customized "just in time" delivery services offered by trucks, as well as as conditions of economics. Within about a 450 mile radius of a shipping point, highway trucks have the economic advantage in moving freight in terms of rates. Beyond 450 miles, however, railroads hold the upper hand and have seen great success in winning back long-haul freight to the railhead.

Railroads don't like to bother with serving individual customers, but instead prefer long-haul, terminal-to-terminal moves. Commodities such as coal originating out of the Powder River Basin, intermodal (including TOFC, COFC and doublestack) trains, unit trains of grain or ethanol, and others simply move from terminal to terminal, or customer to terminal, with a minimal amount of switching.

The so-called "Class 1" railroads (BNSF, UP, CSX NS, CP, CN) have all witnessed incredible growth over the last decade, mainly attributable to rising intermodal and coal volumes. I truly believe the golden age of railroading is still ahead of us...

[JBinCalgary]

fuckn rights, and they cant hire enough here in canada.

[kitchener-lrt]

Great statistics about freight trains. They are very efficient at moving goods. I hope that freight trains become a lot more popular here in north america, and that the number of trucks on our already congested highways decreases.