Bardou and company, very interesting material here. So, what gets shipped in what manner in this country, (from major destinations to other major destinations)? Everything at Wal Mart and K mart is trucked, right? Doesn't all the produce and grain/wheat flour move to cities by rail? My local commuter train is electric, how are freight trains that carry food powered? What about beef and chicken? ( fooled the kids with TVP in sloppy joes, but can't say I'm real impressed with those #10 cans I tried out). Would oil shortages and high prices mainly hit the cross country trucked items but not the rail freight? What about fast food restaurants....can't survive without french fries from Micky Di's... Be interested in any facts on the big picture. Thanks!!

-- clueless (clueless@home.snowbound), January 25, 2000

Answers

My husband's brother is an over-the-road trucker. He makes a run between South Carolina and the Twin Cities every week, sometimes oftener. He carries fabrics, groceries, building materials, paint, furniture, and anything that is assigned to him. He is purchasing his tractor (the truck part), but is given loads of whatever needs to be hauled by the dispatcher. At some point, everything we eat or use will have been hauled on a truck. Nowadays, they are rolling warehouses, thanks to JIT. It wouldn't take much of a hiccup in the system to cause this delicately balanced system to crumple faster than a cheerleaders' pyramid.

-- Liz (lizpavek@hotmail.com), January 25, 2000.

Wheat, corn, soybeans, all grains are shipped by truck to the Ohio River, where it is transported by river barge. Both trucks and barges are powered by diesel fuel. This is the case anywhere around the major rivers, ie: Ohio, Mississippi. Railway is used in the interior for grain transport in areas too far north or south of the Ohio River.

The CSX Railroad is running strong now and they are powered by diesel fuel, as are all freight trains. They are communicating locations of cars by radio; we listen to them on the scanner. The railroad is not transporting perishable food in the midwest. They mostly transport chemicals, automobiles, some logs. Foods are almost entirely transported by trucks. Walmart has their own truck fleet.

River barges (diesel fuel) also transport all coal to the power plants all along the river.

-- Y2kObserver (Y2kObserver@nowhere.com), January 25, 2000.

Point in fact...All trains' use deisel fuel to power the electric generator to run the locomotive. This is why all locomotives are called deisel electric.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_abunker@forty.feet), January 25, 2000.

Being in close proximity to a major railroad line, I can only give you info that I've picked up by listening to the engineer's radio transmission on the scanner, and observing the trains themselves. On a observation personal note: Crossing gates have been randomly activating and shutting off with no trains approaching.

The locomotives I'm used to seeing use diesel fuel. Up to six per train. The engineeers are tired of all the long hours and the difficult work.

Things I've seen on the trains: Lumber, Military equipment (Tanks, Trucks, Hummers, Etc.) Grain, New Chevy GM, & Ford Cars & Trucks, new semi trucks, Coal, Cosco shipping containers, Semi-Trailers, Sheet steel rolls, pipe, bricks, and tons of those closed boxcars.

Tank cars labeled: Anhydrous Ammonia, Corn Syrup, Liquid Propane, Hydrogen Cyanide (shudder), liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, vegetable oil, and a few other things I can't remember now.

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), January 25, 2000.

Ahoy, clueless! Ships sails on the oshins,
Trains runs on the traintracks,
and trucks rides on the highways! Ackackackackack!

I woulda t'ought everybody knew dat one! Ackackackackackack!

I'm Popeye the answer man! toot! toot!

-- Popeye (Always@the.helm), January 25, 2000.

Powder said:

"Crossing gates have been randomly activating and shutting off with no trains approaching."

I have noticed this also. Starting about Dec 15 and even until yesterday.

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), January 25, 2000.

Johnny, you have to wait a minute or two for the train to arrive....or, in my best doomer logic "See, I told you, Y2k made the trains invisible".

-- Craig (craig@ccinet.ab.ca), January 25, 2000.

Well Troll Craig I guess the RR workers are falling for it too then?

On my way to a PT appointment the other day I saw this in Anchorage KY, main crossing center of town. Workers were replacing the whole kit and kaboddle. I rolled down my window and asked "whats up?" Fellow said they had to replace the unit cause it kept shorting out. I said I've noticed them being down alot he said it just started happening. I shoke my head and drove on.

Oh and Craig remember every morning when you wake up--

we are one day closer to seeing the return of Jesus!!

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), January 25, 2000.

UPS alone claims that it ships 11.5 million packages every day. UPS uses trucks and planes. Petroleum products fuel these trucks and planes. Squeeze oil and the consequences can be heavy.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 25, 2000.

UPS also uses the rails. Dedicated UPS trains run NYC to LA every day and vice versa. Cuts of cars (trailer on flatcar) are added or removed as the train passes through major cities like Chicago, Kansas City and at junction points for other major locations.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 25, 2000.