Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511200095
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The prototype of a new rail car for transporting automobiles and trucks was on display Friday on Norfolk Southern tracks in Roanoke.
The 140-foot yellow car was parked just west of the Virginia Museum of Transportation on Norfolk Avenue.
It was built by TTX, a manufacturer owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. and 11 other railroads.
The car represents an effort by NS to cut the cost of hauling vehicles by hauling more of them, said O.V. Otwell, manager of equipment marketing at NS.
During the 1995 model year, which just ended, NS carried approximately 3.15 million vehicles from the automotive plants along its tracks.
The railroad's 1994 revenue from hauling cars was more than $432 million.
The new car can haul 16 vehicles, compared with an average of 10 cars on the 89-foot rail cars now used.
Whether the newer rail car, which costs roughly $150,000, goes into use will depend on the auto companies, Otwell said.
TTX and other rail car makers are in a hotly competitive race to build the next version of vehicle carriers, Otwell said. One company is even preparing to build a shorter car, he said.
The TTX car is 19 feet high and is wider than existing cars. It has foam padding along its walls to prevent dings on the doors of vehicles as they are loaded and unloaded. It is enclosed to protect the vehicles from blowing debris.
The rail car has three sets of wheels and is hinged in the middle, or articulated, to allow it to negotiate curves. It cannot be uncoupled there.
The car can be loaded in 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the skill of the crew, Otwell said.
Because it is a prototype, the car is equipped with a solar-powered cellular phone that transmits information about the car's ride, the bumps and jars, back to TTX design engineers in Chicago, Otwell said.
by CNB