mtuandrew wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:34 amThe one exception: under Manhattan.
Give me some reasons why not - and keep in mind, drawbars are a lot stronger for today’s cars.
For one, the Tropicana Reefers are 17'0" Plate F clearance, the North River Tunnels can only clear 14'6" minus the angle on the edges that is the ruling clearance for the "nationwide" AAR passenger clearance (although LIRR actually has tighter clearances to Brooklyn and Grand Central).
For two, the North River Tunnels are in bad shape, and they would be structurally damaged by 286k freight cars pounding through them. I'm sort of surprised that Amtrak even ran that stone train through last year I think, even though it was really short.
The solution is the cross-harbor tunnel, which would link Oak Island to Bay Ridge, and connect to Bay Ridge, Fresh Pond, Oak Point, and Cedar Hill. There are still clearance issues that would prevent double stacks or autoracks from getting very far, but I think there would be an increase in consumptive carload freight on Long Island, the Bronx, and Connecticut, as well as the possibility for an intermodal shuttle train using trailers in well cars or containers on spine cars that could clear Plate C and go to either Cedar Hill, Davisville, or Worcester.
There's definitely a possibility for significant increases in rail freight by using Oak Island with shuttle trains to decongest Fresh Pond and Oak Point, but there is still a limited physical infrastructure for freight rail, and it's already tough for NY&A to get windows to operate on LIRR. The best potential for freight growth is the expansion of existing transload facilities and/or the creation of additional ones, where a whole cut of cars can be dropped quickly on transfer tracks without fouling up the main line pulling one, spotting one, etc. Then the transload facility's locomotive(s) can bang cars around all day while they are isolated from the freight rail network until the next night when LIRR traffic allows for NY&A to get back out.
The simple fact of the matter is that most of the freight that was hauled around the Northeast by railroads in the 1960's wasn't just moved to trucks, it either completely doesn't exist (industries gone), or it is completely and totally different than it was even 30 or 40 years ago, much less 60. It does seem that there should be some more room for carload freight to be moved for food distribution and a few other niches where it might make sense.
Tadman wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:47 amAnd the shippers/receivers on LI are not general industry but mostly support for the metropolis?
LI and CT are pretty much entirely consumptive markets. There is a ton of productive industry in CT, but it's all high value stuff that's relatively small and low volume, and not rail shippable. The one exception is stone, which is already moved by rail.
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:57 amSpecifically yes - that’s why I suggest a produce train. Fresh fruit and vegetables from Florida and Georgia has to take a truck to New Jersey, then be transloaded to a smaller truck to go across the river. Why not save a step and some diesel? It’s not NY&A’s usual business but would be entirely new loads.
It shouldn't need to be trucked from Florida- CSX operates intermodal trains from Florida to New Jersey all the time, plus interchange with FEC. The last mile is going to be trucked one way or another, whether it comes to New Jersey via intermodal and is distributed from there, distributed from the NY side, or it comes to either by railcar directly.