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temporary assemblies that were used to stack and load vehicles within boxcars and permanently attach them to the flat cars. The assemblies, also called racks, created two levels on which automobiles could be loaded. To complete the flat car, foldaway bridges were added to the ends of the flat car decks to allow the vehicles to be driven the entire length of a train for loading. Building flat cars in this manner, the railroads no longer needed specialized equipment to load and unload the racks in boxcars. All they needed now was a ramp at the right height.
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181:. Two to four automobiles would usually fit into one boxcar. But as automobiles grew in size, railroads found that they needed to modify the boxcars for more efficient loading. Some modifications included longer boxcars, larger sliding double side doors located near one end of the boxcar, or doors located on the boxcar ends.
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began offering a shuttle service through the tunnel which allowed vehicles to drive onto auto carrier cars to be transported between
Whittier and the former town of Portage. As traffic to Whittier increased, the shuttle became insufficient, leading to a project to convert the existing railroad tunnel
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It wasn't until the 1960s that the majority of railroads took the clue from circuses and started loading their own flat cars in this manner. But, loading even up to six automobiles onto one flat car left a large amount of space above the vehicles that was unused. The natural solution was to take the
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to increase their capacity by adding collapsible frames to allow for double-deck operation. The concept was not perfected and therefore failed to gain acceptance. In the 1940s and 1950s, some railroads experimented with automobile loading assemblies that would lift one or more automobile above others
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The only problem left was that the new autorack cars did not provide any protection from flying debris or from the weather. In the manner CN had developed in the 1950s, in the 1970s other North
American railroads began refining their autorack cars. They began installing side sheathing to protect the
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Autoracks quickly lengthened to around 80 ft (24 m) to increase their loading capacity. This made them about as long as the average passenger car of the time; if the cars were much longer, they wouldn't be able to operate in interchange service due to clearance issues on curves. Yet, the railroads
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in 1955, stepped in to ease the railroads' financial burden a bit. Trailer Train purchased the flat cars from the rail car manufacturers, and the railroads that wanted to operate autoracks purchased the racks that were installed on those flat cars. Such cars were easily spotted at trackside due to
204:
or in separate sections of their trains (basically, one train would haul the performers and employees while a second train would haul the vehicles and freight). The circus solution to loading vehicles was to use a string of flat cars. A temporary ramp was placed at the end of the flat cars and
193:
within a boxcar for more efficient use of space within the cars. The success of these assemblies was limited due to their special use and specific size; it proved uneconomical to maintain a fleet of these assemblies that could only be loaded into boxcars from the ends of the cars.
224:
engineers worked with German railroads to design a railroad car that was basically an extra long version of a vehicle hauling trailer. The design they came up with was able to carry 10 vehicles on one car. VW's two-level flatcar design effectively became the first autorack.
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Note that the article title, in this case "Autorack", is given as soon as grammatically feasible, in bold text. The first use of any alternate forms of the title, here "auto carrier" is also in bold text. The section above the table of contents (TOC) is called "the lead."
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temporary bridge plates spanned the gaps between adjacent flat cars; the road vehicles were driven or towed up onto one car and then driven or towed down the train. This type of vehicle loading became known as "circus style" due to its frequent use by circuses.
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vehicles from impact. Roofs were added to most autoracks in the 1980s, and end doors were added in the latter portion of the decade (both to prevent damage and to deter people from boarding the cars and riding the train within the vehicles loaded in them).
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The railroads became the primary long-distance transporter of completed automobiles, one of few commodities where the industry has been able to overcome trucking in competition. Using the enclosed tri-level autoracks, they were able to provide
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During the 1960s, specially built auto carriers took over rail transportation of newly manufactured automobiles in North
America. They carried more cars in the same space and were easier to load and unload than the boxcars used earlier.
125:↑↑ Key words and phrases are linked to articles in Knowledge (XXG). Links to external sites are generally discouraged in the main article text; these belong in the "External links" section at the bottom of the article.
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Today, Amtrak's Auto Train carries about 200,000 passengers and generates around $ 50 million in revenue annually. It is considered Amtrak's best-paying train in terms of income in comparison with operating expenses.
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Categories (always prefixed by the word "Categories", and listed in the order the page lists them) are found at the bottom of the article if you are using the standard "skin" but may be at the top in other skins.
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Railroads of today are still grappling with the problem of loading more and larger vehicles onto autoracks. One popular solution is to create a double-length car that is articulated over a single middle truck
290:(N&W) and other carriers. Also in this decade, autoracks were built in three-level configurations so railroads could haul more of the smaller vehicles of the era; two-level autoracks were still in use for
336:
Although railroads were just beginning to see the advantages that autoracks delivered in the 1960s, most North
American railroads were reluctant to invest in such specially built equipment. The
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service differ from those built for CN and CP; the Amtrak cars are three inches shorter in height, and use solid side panels instead of the perforated panels operated in freight service.
389:) so that each half of the car is about the same length as a conventional autorack. These cars, which can be seen in operation on many of the railroads of the western US, are brand named
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in 1991; since then many railroads have themselves purchased the flat cars on which the racks were installed and TTX has itself expanded into purchasing and leasing out other railroad
587:
The privately owned service became very popular, but after 10 years of operation, and some costly attempts to expand the service elsewhere (such as a schedule between
Florida and
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In the early part of the 20th century, when automobiles were still new technology, their production levels were low enough that they could be shipped in sufficient quantities in
55:
The first image in articles is usually on the right. This is especially helpful when there is a table of contents, as it reduces the blank space to the right. → →
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the reporting marks identifying
Trailer Train on the flat car portion of the car and the railroad's logo (usually much larger) in the upper portion of the rack.
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These modifications helped, but the demand for new automobiles outpaced the railroads' abilities to build and modify boxcars in which to ship them. In 1923, the
196:
By this time, in the United States, most circuses still traveled by rail. Circuses were major haulers of wheeled vehicles, carrying all of their vehicles on
286:
is credited with having the first set of cars manufactured for use in the late 1950s. Ever-larger auto carriers and specialized terminals were developed by
460:. 200 new aluminum autoracks promise a softer ride, a wider interior, superior door-edge protection, and a rust-free interior from older steel versions.
534:) distance along the east coast of the U.S. For vacationers with destinations at one or more of the many popular tourist attractions of Florida, the
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The table of contents is automatically generated by the software that runs
Knowledge (XXG). It can be disabled in one's user preferences. ↓↓
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244:) long and could carry 8 vehicles. These cars were a big success and helped lead to the development of today's enclosed auto racks.
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405:(44.3 m) long and 20 ft 2 in (6 m) tall; they feature adjustable interior decks to carry up to 22 light trucks and minivans.
684:"See also" is the standard heading for related Knowledge (XXG) articles not already linked elsewhere in the article. ↓↓
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Railroad (CN) introduced a group of auto carriers which represented a new innovation. The CN bi-level auto-rack cars had
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was as the forefront of autorack technology again, as it had been in the 1950s by using a more light-weight material,
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This arrangement worked so well that nearly every autorack operating in the US was so owned. Trailer Train became
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Most articles with multiple images---- alternate sides, giving a more balanced and interesting appearance. → →
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An autorack. The platform of the pictured car (the bottom strip of yellow and everything below it) is owned by
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could still do better. It didn't take long for the first three-level autoracks to appear on
American rails.
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376:. The development of enclosed autoracks also helped make several other innovative services work well.
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bi-level autorack cars acquired used. These were augmented by new tri-level auto-racks in 1976.
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offered an alternative to motorists who would otherwise drive their automobiles the 855-
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and light trucks from the factories to automotive distributors. It is also used for
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greater protection from in-transit damage (such as that which may occur due to
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began service on purely passenger routes in the US), a key feature of
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has ordered 375 of these new cars as well. The new cars built for
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have the convenience of use of their own automobile upon arrival.
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production was increasing beyond the capacity of highway trucks.
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introduced a new and innovative rail transportation service for
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The open end of a two-level autorack that is undergoing repairs.
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experimented with modifying a group of 61-foot-long wood-frame
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They were huge by the standards of the time; the cars were 75
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748:. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
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External links are sometimes sorted into subheadings. ↓↓
709:↑↑ A bulleted list (using * at the beginning of the line)
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645:. Completed in 1943, with a length of 13,300 feet (4054
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Alaska
Railroad: Service through a long one-lane tunnel
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328:↑↑ Proper nouns in headings are, of course, capitalized
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An Auto Train type of service utilizing autoracks and
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Sub-heading (using === at both ends of the line) ↓↓
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816:— "North America's Longest Railway-Highway Tunnel."
475:Auto Train: combining autoracks and passenger cars
840:"Auto-Max railcar gets more vehicles to dealers"
656:and longest combined rail and highway tunnel in
596:Amtrak's Auto Train: federally sponsored service
17:The non-annotated version of this article is at
98:(unladen in this context refers to automobiles
480:Auto-Train Corp: a privately funded innovation
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785:Amtrak Photo Archive: the AutoTrain Autoracks
147:History: developing improvements from boxcars
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850:"Detroit: A demanding customer demands more"
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572:From the beginning in 1971 (the same year
862:— March 26, 2004 online article from the
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860:"New NS lines meet growing Honda needs"
542:avoid the long automobile ride on busy
852:— September, 1999 online article from
806:— August 3, 2004 online article from
791:"The Evolution of Automobile Traffic"
787:— includes data and an image gallery.
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356:Autoracks wait to be unloaded in a
842:— March, 2003 online article from
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746:The American Railroad Freight Car
601:In current operation of Amtrak's
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926:British railway milk tank wagon
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629:was operated in Alaska at the
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462:Canadian Pacific Railway
458:Aluminum Vehicle Carrier
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183:
176:
152:
150:
104:
99:
85:auto carrier
84:
80:
78:
16:
15:
1220:Work trains
1205:Stoneblower
1114:Slate wagon
864:Daily Home.
854:Railway Age
499:passengers
107:automobiles
96:automobiles
1273:Categories
1094:Quarry tub
1083:Open wagon
1053:Hopper car
1041:Flat wagon
979:RoadRailer
718:References
603:Auto Train
578:Auto-Train
536:Auto Train
524:Auto Train
486:December 6
469:Auto Train
294:and light
234:end-doors.
222:Volkswagen
111:Auto Train
1175:Excavator
1150:Brake van
984:Stock car
440:In 2004,
395:Gunderson
218:VW Beetle
198:flat cars
190:flat cars
1170:Crew car
1099:Rollbock
1078:Modalohr
1068:Minecart
989:Tank car
962:Milk car
936:Coil car
915:Autorack
693:See also
633:through
607:consists
548:Virginia
446:aluminum
430:trailers
344:and the
166:wikitext
89:railroad
81:autorack
26:Shortcut
19:Autorack
1155:Caboose
1047:Gondola
1035:Flatcar
1025:Conflat
651:highway
564:Florida
560:Georgia
517:Orlando
515:, near
423:traffic
419:weather
391:AutoMax
282:of the
214:Germany
179:boxcars
34:WP:ANAR
1063:Lowmac
920:Boxcar
779:Amtrak
735:June 3
670:June 7
654:tunnel
574:Amtrak
562:, and
530:(1375
511:) and
507:(near
466:Amtrak
296:trucks
1165:Crane
637:near
427:truck
387:bogie
1242:and
1085:(EU)
1049:(US)
1043:(EU)
1037:(US)
975:(EU)
969:(US)
948:(EU)
922:(US)
800:(1).
750:ISBN
739:2005
674:2000
528:mile
522:The
497:both
490:1971
421:and
411:both
292:vans
240:(23
238:feet
731:PDF
611:CSX
546:in
501:and
484:On
454:AVC
432:).
415:and
102:).
79:An
1275::
1261:↓↓
798:68
737:,
676:.
672:,
660:.
558:,
554:,
550:,
532:km
519:.
488:,
403:in
298:.
216:,
117:.
48:↓↓
892:e
885:t
878:v
856:.
846:.
810:.
755:.
741:.
729:(
647:m
385:(
364:.
242:m
75:.
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