RoadRailer equipment is a hybrid that is both a highway trailer and a railcar at the same time. On the highway, RoadRailer equipment can be hauled by a regular highway tractor on the RoadRailer unit's rubber-tired wheels. These same units can, however, be coupled together into a railroad train, without having to be loaded onto flatcars.
The conversion to rail mode is accomplished by simply adding railroad bogies (similar to the trucks found under normal railcars) between the trailers. Terminals simply require an area where tracks are set into pavement (as on trolley lines) and simple forklifts for moving the rail bogies around.
RoadRailer equipment can come in various configurations, much the same as standard highway trailers, and can be operated either in dedicated trains or on the backs of other trains. (Because the RoadRailer units do not have the same strength as regular railcars, which would make their tare weight too high for highway use, they cannot be operated in mid-train between other railcars.) In addition to being used in freight service by several major railroads, Amtrak operates a substantial number of RoadRailer units for its mail and express business.
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980633 (far left) and 980660 (near left): RoadRailer units on the rear of southbound Amtrak trains at Selma, N.C. The trains are traveling on tracks owned by CSX. |
Early RoadRailer equipment operated in the 1980s consisted of trailers with a retractable railroad axle which had to be hauled along during highway travel. These units have been phased out, replaced by units with the removable rail bogies. The rail bogies, with their two axles, not only reduce tare weight during highway travel but also provide a better ride for cargo during rail travel.
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890490 (far left) and 890487 (near left): Early RoadRailer version with retractable rail axle at far left; contemporary version with removable rail bogie at near left. |
RoadRailer equipment is manufactured in North America by Wabash National Corp. RoadRailer applications are also licensed in other countries around the world.
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990421 (far left) and 990423 (near left): Refrigerated ICEZ RoadRailer with nose-mounted cooling unit on display at the International Intermodal Expo in Atlanta in 1999. These units now operate on dedicated BNSF trains from the West Coast to Chicago. |
These are just a few samples of RoadRailer equipment photos from my file.
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001025 European RoadRailer train photographed in Austria. Though the trailers are somewhat different from American trailers (in order to comply with European standards and operating practices) the basic principles used are the same. |
My book,
Understanding Intermodal
A portable primer on today's multimodal
transportation equipment and systems,
contains a chapter on RoadRailer equipment and operations. For details on the book, click on the above link.
Link to Wabash National RoadRailer pages
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