CE 515 Railroad Engineering History of Intermodal “Transportation exists to conquer space and time -”
What is Intermodal? “transportation involving more than one mode of transportation during a single journey.” Rail Truck Container Ship Barges
Beginnings Can date back to at least 1880s Long Island Rail Road Hauled farm wagons from Long Island to New York City Loaded wagons on flatcars and then put people and passengers in separate cars Tapered off starting in 1890 and ended by 1894
Beginning of Current Intermodal Started with Southern Pacific in 1953 By end of 1954 eighteen Class I railroads introduced piggybacking Standardization problems
Interstate Highway Act Established in 1956 Created the interstate highway system Increased competition from trucks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJBpg24A6Ok
Trailer on Flat Car Trailer on Flat Car service was offered Allowed for shippers to load product in truck trailers and then ship by rail Required 40 jacks and chains
Collapsible Trailer Hitch Invented in 1957 by Les Robinson Eliminated tie-downs Could be lowered allowing trailers to drive over it
1960s International traffic began to develop 1966: 1st trans-Atlantic containers transported Late 1960s: 1st trans-Pacific container services began
Land Bridge Moving freight across the country from a port on one coast to a port on the other coast
1970s Shift from retailer to wholesaler Mechanized Loading Double-stack car 4-R Railroad Act
1980s Deregulation via the Staggers Act (1980) Allowed railroads to change price without interference Become more competitive with trucks
Intermodal Traffic Growth