You’re likely familiar with seeing cars transported on open car carrier trucks, but have you ever considered how many new vehicles make their journey by train? The truth is, a significant portion of automobiles rely on rail transport to reach dealerships and customers across the country. In fact, railroads play a crucial role in the automotive industry, moving a vast number of vehicles efficiently and safely.
Railroads in the U.S. handle approximately 75% of all new cars and light trucks after they leave the assembly line. This impressive statistic from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) underscores the importance of rail in the automotive supply chain. In 2019 alone, when automakers sold 17 million new cars and light trucks in the U.S., freight railroads were instrumental in making it happen. This robust network ensures that vehicles can be transported in large quantities over long distances, contributing significantly to the automotive market.
So, how exactly are these vehicles transported by rail? The answer lies in specialized railcars known as autoracks. These are not your average freight cars; they are specifically designed to carry finished vehicles, protecting them from damage and the elements throughout their journey.
Let’s delve deeper into the world of autoracks and explore how they facilitate Auto Transport By Rail, ensuring your new car arrives in pristine condition.
What Exactly is an Autorack? Understanding its Role in Auto Transport by Rail
An autorack is a specialized type of railroad car designed exclusively for transporting automobiles. These enclosed railcars are the backbone of auto transport by rail, carrying everything from cars and trucks to SUVs and vans, both domestically produced and imported.
Autorack Design and Structure
The exterior of a bi-level autorack, a common type used in auto transport by rail.
Autoracks are easily recognizable due to their fully enclosed, cage-like structure, built from sturdy metal. This complete enclosure is critical, offering protection from weather conditions like rain, snow, and hail, as well as minimizing the risk of theft and vandalism – common concerns in open transport methods.
Inside, autoracks are fitted with internal metal “racks” that create multiple levels, often called “decks.” These decks are strategically designed to maximize the number of vehicles that can be transported in a single railcar. By stacking vehicles vertically, autoracks significantly increase shipping capacity without risking damage during transit. This multi-level design is a key feature that makes auto transport by rail so efficient.
Exploring the Variety: Types of Autoracks for Different Auto Transport Needs
The rail industry utilizes several types of autoracks, each tailored to accommodate different sizes and types of vehicles. Understanding these variations is important to appreciate the flexibility of auto transport by rail. The main types include bi-level, tri-level, uni-level, and AutoMax autoracks.
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Bi-Level Autoracks: These autoracks feature two decks and are designed to carry taller vehicles such as trucks, SUVs, and minivans. A typical bi-level autorack can transport around 10 vehicles.
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Tri-Level Autoracks: As the name suggests, tri-level autoracks have three decks. They are primarily used for sedans and other standard-height cars. Tri-level autoracks can typically carry about 15 vehicles, maximizing the density of car shipments for auto transport by rail.
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AutoMax Autoracks: These are perhaps the most versatile type, featuring adjustable deck heights. This adaptability allows AutoMax autoracks to be configured as either bi-level or tri-level, accommodating a wide range of vehicle types, including cars, trucks, vans, and even minivans. Due to their flexible design, AutoMax autoracks can carry up to 22 vehicles in a tri-level configuration or fewer when configured for larger vehicles.
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Uni-Level Autoracks: In contrast to the multi-level types, uni-level autoracks have only a single deck. These are designed for oversized or uniquely shaped vehicles that cannot be stacked, such as truck tractors, farm equipment, recreational vehicles (RVs), buses, and even double-decker buses. Uni-level autoracks typically carry fewer vehicles, around four, but are essential for transporting these specialized loads via auto transport by rail.
This range of autorack types ensures that auto transport by rail can efficiently handle the diverse needs of the automotive industry, from compact cars to large commercial vehicles.
Loading and Unloading Autoracks: A Detailed Look at the Process
The process of loading and unloading autoracks is carefully orchestrated to ensure the safety and integrity of the vehicles. Specialized equipment and trained personnel are essential to the efficiency of auto transport by rail.
The Loading Process
Inside an autorack, showing how vehicles are positioned and secured during auto transport by rail.
Vehicles are driven onto and off autoracks using portable ramps. These ramps allow for smooth transitions between the ground and the autorack decks. Safety is paramount during loading; vehicles are driven slowly and carefully onto the ramps and into their designated spots within the autorack.
Once a vehicle is correctly positioned inside the autorack, trained auto ramp professionals take over to secure each vehicle. They use specialized straps and wheel chocks to firmly fasten each wheel to the railcar deck. This securement is crucial to prevent any movement or damage to the vehicles during transit, ensuring they remain stable throughout their auto transport by rail journey. These procedures adhere to strict guidelines established by the Association of American Railroads (AAR), ensuring standardized safety and securement practices across the industry.
The Unloading Process
Upon reaching their destination auto ramp, autoracks are unloaded with similar care and precision. First, each vehicle undergoes a quick inspection upon arrival. Then, using portable ramps, vehicles are carefully driven off the autorack. After unloading, vehicles are typically parked in designated storage lots, awaiting the next stage of their journey.
Often, car hauler trucks will pick up vehicles from these auto ramps for the final “last mile” delivery to dealerships. Before this final truck transport, another visual inspection is conducted. Finally, once the vehicles arrive at the dealership and are unloaded, a last inspection is performed to ensure they are free from any scratches, dings, or dents incurred during auto transport by rail and subsequent handling. This multi-step inspection process guarantees quality control throughout the entire delivery chain.
From Boxcars to Autoracks: The Evolution of Auto Transport by Rail
Railroads have been integral to automobile transportation since the early days of car manufacturing. Since the first Model-T Ford rolled off the assembly line in the early 1900s, rail has been a vital method for distributing vehicles across vast distances.
Early Methods: Modified Boxcars
Union Pacific employees inspecting vehicles loaded into modified boxcars in the 1950s, an early form of auto transport by rail.
Initially, railroads used modified boxcars for auto transport by rail. These were standard boxcars retrofitted with internal racks to create multiple levels for carrying more vehicles. However, these modified boxcars had limitations in capacity and efficiency compared to modern solutions.
The Birth of the Autorack
As demand for new automobiles surged in the mid-20th century, and trucking emerged as a strong competitor, railroads needed a more efficient solution. Trucks could carry six or more cars at a time, pushing railroads to innovate. In the 1960s, railroads responded by designing a dedicated railcar specifically for finished vehicles – the autorack was born.
This purpose-built design was a game-changer for auto transport by rail. Autoracks could carry significantly more vehicles – 10 or more initially – allowing manufacturers to ship larger volumes of cars in a single train, drastically improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Since its inception, the autorack design has continued to evolve, becoming the widely used and highly efficient rail equipment we know today. This innovation cemented rail’s position as a leading mode for automotive logistics.
Why Choose Autoracks? The Advantages of Auto Transport by Rail
There are compelling reasons why automotive shippers rely on autorack rail cars for transporting their finished vehicles. Auto transport by rail using autoracks offers significant advantages in efficiency, flexibility, and safety.
Efficiency and Volume
A Kenosha Auto Transport (K.A.T.) railcar showcasing the capacity and efficiency of auto transport by rail in the 1960s.
One of the primary benefits is efficiency. Autoracks enable shippers to move a large number of vehicles simultaneously. While car carrier trucks typically transport around nine vehicles, some modern autoracks can carry up to 22 or even 26 vehicles at once, depending on the type. This higher capacity translates to fewer shipments needed to move the same volume of vehicles, reducing costs and fuel consumption.
Many auto manufacturers leverage this efficiency by using auto transport by rail to move large shipments of vehicles to strategically located auto distribution centers. From these centers, vehicles are then dispatched to dealerships via trucks for the final mile delivery. This combination of rail for long-haul transport and trucks for local delivery optimizes the entire logistics chain.
Flexibility and Variety
Autoracks offer flexibility in terms of the types of vehicles they can transport. With different types like bi-level, tri-level, and AutoMax, autoracks can accommodate a wide range of automobiles, from compact sedans to large trucks and SUVs. This versatility means that no matter the type of vehicle being shipped, there is an autorack solution to meet the needs of auto transport by rail.
Enhanced Safety and Security
Safety and security are paramount when transporting valuable vehicles. Autoracks are designed to provide superior protection compared to open transport methods. The enclosed structure shields vehicles from environmental damage, such as hail, road debris, and weather elements. Moreover, the enclosed design significantly reduces the risk of theft and vandalism.
Additionally, modern auto transport by rail often incorporates web-enabled tracking technology. This provides shippers with real-time visibility into the location of their shipments throughout the transit process, enhancing security and allowing for better logistics management.
In conclusion, auto transport by rail using autoracks is a cornerstone of the automotive industry’s logistics, offering unmatched efficiency, flexibility, and safety for shipping vehicles across long distances. From the design of the autorack itself to the carefully managed loading and unloading processes, every aspect is optimized to deliver vehicles in perfect condition, ready for dealerships and ultimately, customers.
