Re: [CBQ] Cat at Montgomery,IL

[STEVEN HOLDING <sholding@sbcglobal.net>]

They may be faster but you can not move as much via truck.  And then they wait for an hour to fuel up at a truck stop but then that is in the schedule.  And you think trainman have it bad try on the road for three weeks at a time before getting back home again.
One of my sons is a ORT and I am retired DS
Steve in SC

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From: Michael Matalis <mmatalis@sprynet.com>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, May 10, 2013 10:15:44 PM
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Cat at Montgomery,IL

 

How can trucks beat the railroads; by being on time.  When I worked in the traffic department at Zenith Electronics we could depend on trucks delivering within a few hours of the promised time.  Railroads, well you needed to plan on a couple day window. I lost count of how many times I shut down production lines in Springfield MO because stuff showed up 24 hours late via rail. 

Thank you kindly,

Michael Matalis

Downers Grove IL

You can see my railroad photography blog at http://www.chasingheavymetal.com/blog/

You can see my photos and my ugly mug at http://www.flickr.com/photos/prairierailfan/sets/

And you can now find me on Facebook

On May 10, 2013, at 8:08 PM, qutlx1@aol.com wrote:

The only tie in with the Q in this email is the plant in question was orginally served by the Q and located there in 1956-57 as part of the Qs effort to develop industry along the lines. Please feel free to forward this to any other group that may be able to answer the question.

 

I have submitted an article for future publication by the BRHS on the history of the CAT plant at Montgomery and the Q's service to it. But my interest was picked today when I travelled from Yorkville,IL to Montgomery and met 3 semis with high wide loads coming from the plant. I see this everday about every 10-15 minutes or less as Yorkville is on the main route to interstate 80 from the plant. In the 1970s I worked the job for 3 months and we pulled 25-30 loads of earth moving equip. every day on flats headed primarily to the west coast for export at $2K plus in charges. Currently as I pass thru Eola and look over at the track that the job comes in on; there might be 5-8 cars of CAT loads each day.

 

What I really want to understand is how can the trucks haul these montsters, almost all w/high wide permits and often with one or two escort drivers at a rate lower than BNSF ? There are TTX flats assigned to a CAT pool and many of them have cradles welded in place for specific tractor models. Yet it's clear the truckers with their "low boy" trailers are taking the lions share of the business. On each of the westbound loads I met tonight the tractors had their wheels,hydraulic arms and buckets removed,just like they would be on a RR flat. Since only the tractor itself was on the highway trailer I met;there has to be one or two more with the other parts. Just like on the RR.

 

Can anyone explain how the truckers are beating BNSF out of this business ?

 

Yes curious minds work in strange ways...................

 

Leo Phillipp

 

Ps-Dont even get me started on the outbound scrap loads or inbound parts via RR. I was there to see what happened first hand.

 

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