BOB2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You may want to try the wikepedia site, it has
> some basic history and background. There are a
> variety of commodities transported by "piggy back"
> (wheeled trailer on flatcar, or tofc) and
> containers (single or double stacked on flatcars,
> or multiple segment container cars (container of
> flat car, or cofc).
>
> High value items from tennis shoes and
> electronics, to low value items like used
> newsprint can be in any of these containers or
> trucks, with everything else in between.
> Containers now mostly have rfid type technology to
> locate and track shipments. Shipments are sorted
> and prioritized based on destination, cargo types,
> time sensitivity, and contractual requirements
> with shippers, with higher value and perishable
> items generally having higher priority, who pay
> more for that service "quality", over say lower
> value shipments of rebar or used newsprint
> exported to Taiwan, seeking the lowest most cost
> effective tariff. So there is definitely a rhyme
> and a reason for how its done..
>
> Intermodal has essentially replaced the boxcar,
> requiring a siding, and a switch, and train make
> up and priority will vary widely, as it did with
> boxcar traffic. Many railroads run true "unit"
> intermodal trains for customers like a UPS train,
> or a Maersk train, or even container "auto parts"
> trains for delivery to auto assembly plants,
> serving as a conduit for everything from ocean
> shipping to package delivery. And, some trains,
> are made up of whatever general intermodal traffic
> is going to a given destination. How much is a
> customer willing to pay, and what level of
> reliability or speed of delivery they require, is
> a big part of what determines priority.
>
> RR's are increasingly competing for truck business
> of over 500 miles, and last month, intermodal
> loading set a record, surpassing carload volumes
> (as intermodal continues to grow, while carloads
> of coal have dropped off, significantly).
> Intermodal train priority and operations reflect
> these factors and will vary widely by origins,
> destination, route conditions, connections, the
> customer base, and what is being shipped.
>
> Train size, train power needs, train weight, route
> capacity issues, and other operational
> considerations also affect how all trains are put
> together.
>
> It's not a simple answer, but I hope this helps
> some...

Well, yes and no. It is not a simple answer, I agree.
Where I live, suburban Chicago, the UP has Global 1, 2, 3, and 4 plus Proviso, most/all of which are devoted to forwarding containers to NS, CSX, CN and local drayage, I assume.
The question remains, I think, how does a single container, on a ship from China, landing somewhere on the Pacific Coast end up at a Target distribution warehouse in Virginia?
Regarding your comment on experts... as I type this, the only feed back from an "expert" is that Inter Modal is one word. No mention of the use of a hyphen.