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RoRoRail simplifies Rail-Road container transfer by replacing lifting systems with one that rolls intermodal containers between modes.

Lowers costs through greater labor and equipment efficiencies
Eliminates purchase and operating expenses associated with lifting equipment
Reduces time & cost obstacles in simplifying container transfers
Uses environmentally sustainable auxiliary power to assist in rolling on and rolling off containers between modes, when needed
Provides for lower weight & clearances than most current rolling stock

problems to be solved:

Much if not most freight in North America travels less than 500 miles, making short-haul rail freight under current circumstances uncompetitive with trucks. While efficient, railroads are not flexible with fixed rights-of-way, necessitating rail freight to use flexible trucks for pick-ups and deliveries to and from scattered locations off rail.
There is a need to reduce the time and cost obstacles of transferring freight between rail cars and truck chasses. Current transfer infrastructure, including cranes and forklifts, along with time consumed and labor costs in making rail-truck transfers are the biggest roadblocks to efficient short-haul rail carriage.
Reducing truck congestion with its associated pollution, fuel usage & labor costs in urban areas and along high-volume cargo corridors is important in reducing the carbon imprint from transportation.

solution

RoRoRail would reduce the complexity of transferring containers between modes through the simplified process of using cargo aircraft type rollers on rail cars and truck chassis to transfer containers between modes. It eliminates the need for lifting equipment such as cranes and forklifts.
Auxiliary power, such as solar-battery or hydrogen, may be used to transfer heavier loads. Lighter loads can be pushed by one operator.
Pending further automation, only one operator would be needed to do transfers, reducing labor costs.
RoRoRail terminals would simply require only team tracks next to pavements similar to those used by the then New York Central and a couple of other railroads in the 1960s and 1970s when they operated Flexivan, a streamlined container system that allowed one person at each terminal to load and unload containers between truck chasses and single spine rail cars (to keep down tare weight compared to regular flat/piggyback cars) with turntables onto which the containers were loaded, turned and locked onto the cars.
Where containers need to be stored as rail and truck movements are often not simultaneous, Secure Transfer Facilities (STF) would be used at transload points.
RoRoRail has two plans:

PLAN A, a completely new system of hauling LD style containers to develop new markets
PLAN B, a simplified system of hauling standard containers, 53’, FEUs (40’) and TEUs (20’) used today in the vast majority of land and sea freight movements

*Image on researchgate.net by Felix Brandt.

*Image of New York Central Rail Flexivan Trailer by Andy Madden.

*All images used for information purposes only.

*Image courtesy of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) Inc.

Plan A:
a new system
for new rail markets

RoRoRail can be a new design for carriage of light weight airline style (LD) containers on cars with roller floors for easy loading from secure storage areas and/or from trucks with roller flooring. The concept of carrying LDs can be an effective means of tapping into current LTL (Less Than Truckload) markets.
It offers flexibility and scalability to markets and customer needs with light weight containers that are right-sized to load small shipments completely at origins and ship directly to railheads without having to go through freight consolidation points which add time and money costs to the shipping process, thus reducing the need for large, heavy containers.
Weatherproof LD containers would be designed to withstand the variety of adverse weather conditions through which they would travel.
There would be reduced tare (empty) weights: An LD2 has tare weight of 200 pounds and a maximum gross weight of 2700 pounds compared to an FEU (40-foot international container) with a tare weight of 8,000 pounds and a loaded weight of 66,000 pounds and an interior volume of 1,170 square feet, suitable only for large loads.
Secure Transfer Facility (SDF): SDFs would be needed at transload points to provide safe and secure storage since rail and truck traffic flows are usually not simultaneous. Each SDF could utilize simple extendable connections or ramps with roller beds that can adjust to differences in elevations between rail cars and storage areas. LD containers would be moved similarly as they are in air cargo terminals with significantly less need for power assistance than standard containers due lighter weights and smaller dimensions.
Rail cars would be customized with rollers similar to those on cargo aircraft for easy transfers from SDFs. The design would need to be explored and one concept is an open-sided box car that would provide for some weather and vandalism protection. One possible design may incorporate two large doors on each side that when one door slides open, similarly to plug doors on box cars, one-half of the car is available for loading or unloading which when completed, can be moved to open the other half. Another advantage of the side-loaded cars is that they can be loaded on one-side and off-loaded on the other without having to turn the cars or trains at destinations.
Another concept would be end-loaded cars similar to auto racks using roller technology to move LDs and/or other containers across several car lengths using built-in ramps between cars.
Truck chassis would also feature roller beds with secure tie-downs for LD containers and could incorporate a means of weather and vandalism protection if deemed necessary.
Markets: Plan A system would challenge point-to-point truck services that bypass consolidation delays and costs by using direct rail service along corridors using light-weight weather-proof LD containers that move directly from origin points to consignees.

Plan A, 2.0:

Premise: use standard instead of roller floors and specialized vehicles. Use customized containers with castor (all-direction), heavy duty wheels to facilitate movement by workers. Rail cars and truck chassis would require locking equipment.

Caster Wheels have a large diameter to get over floor irregularities. They rotate 360 degrees horizontally, and they spread across the bottom of the container on 18 inch centers.

Image (L): 5 inch thermoplastic rubber tread caster wheels - 350 lbs. capacity.
*Image courtesy of Service Caster. All images for informational purposes only.

Containers are made of aluminum (or fiberglass) sheeting with aluminum reinforcing frame.

Doors open on one or both ends, hinged at bottom or one side, and cover the entire surface.
Floors are aluminum honeycomb for strength and lightness.

Plan B:
a simplified system
for hauling
or transferring
standard containers

Plan B is for markets that use or require use of standard 53-foot containers, TEUs (20’ equivalents) and FEUs (40’), on RoRoRail cars used for moving LDs and can also accommodate the larger and heavier containers. Such markets can include:

Moving containers between ports and inland container terminals designed to reduce portside congestion
Handling containers for large shippers capable moving significant amounts of freight point-to-point
Moving containers from double stack terminals along high-volume corridors to regional distribution centers.

Rail cars would need to be equipped with auxiliary power, such as solar-battery or hydrogen, to assist in moving heavier loads between modes. Auxiliary power could be similar to those used on Difco ballast cars currently in use.

rationale

RAIL FREIGHT GROWTH in recent years has lagged that of other modes, especially trucks. As freight volumes continue to grow, rail freight needs to pick up the slack to avoid ever larger investments in roads and other infrastructure, especially in an age of climate change concerns.
Both TRAINS Magazine columnist, Bill Stephens, and Martin Oberman, retired chair of the Surface Transportation Board, have commented on the need for railroads to refocus on growth and to consider new concepts. RoRoRail can be a solution to declining boxcar traffic and offer greater and lower-cost flexibility in offering both lineside and offline loading and unloading options through a simplified transfer process. RoRoRail’s capability of carrying containers of every size, from airline style LDs to 53 footers, offers rail an unparallel opportunity to regain growth in freight markets.
RAILROADS NEED TO REPLACE AGING EQUIPMENT used for previous systems of non-lift conveyance of containers by rail such as Flexi-Van and RoadRailer with a new efficient and cost-effective means of transportation: RoRoRail.
AUTOMATED CONTAINER TRANSPORT: RoRoRail would be compatible with automated carriage systems of containers by rail being developed for use as both single cars and coupled together in trains.
EFICIENCY OF RAIL: In Japan, there is a proposal to help alleviate a truck driver shortage by building conveyor belt highways along major corridors. RoRoRail will operate on the most efficient and economical system…steel wheels on steel rails where the friction between the two is equal to only one dime for each wheel on a rail car, making RoRoRail a preferable means of reducing reliance on truck traffic.

conclusion

Rail carriage is a natural way to move freight in an efficient and effective manner that reduces pollution and congestion…over long distances. The main challenge is how to apply the advantages rail transport to carrying containerized freight over relatively short distances. The short haul movement of containers by rail is challenged by the large costs for infrastructure and manpower needed under current tranfer methods. While those methods work for running double stack container trains long distances, they deter the short hauls. RoRoRail applies a simple roll-on roll-off system that eliminates or reduces both time and infrastructure expenses, allowing for rail to compete in markets of 500 or fewer miles. Developing an actual design is the next step toward marketing and encouraging investment in such a system.

opportunities

New Business: Shift a portion of short-haul highway traffic to rail. Reduce operating costs by eliminating lifting equipment and reducing number of truck drivers
E-Commerce: Unit trains could serve fulfillment centers that ship to regional distribution centers for final truck deliveries. Where volumes may require standard 53’ containers, a “Flexible Box Car” design could feature side doors for direct loading at fulfillment centers into containers aboard rail cars that move as collective units to distribution sites.
Air-Rail Transfers at large air cargo hubs could work under the Plan A concept of carrying LD containers.

acknowledgements

Initial system design: Spring quarter 2020 by Segal Design Center at Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering. We extend sincere thanks to Dr. Stephen Carr and Peter Tuchler, David Meza, Joseph Nikac and Dash Slamovitz for their research and design recommendations accomplished during a challenging time of having to do all work virtually from remote locations. Also, credit is due to Diona Geci for the logo design and art direction. All these people are a credit to the caliber of faculty and students at Northwestern.

Please contact Payson Wild at Payson@rororail.net for any inquiries.

Payson Wild
President
North Shoreline Inc.
Evanston, IL 60201
payson@rororail.net

Joseph Schofer, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Northwestern University

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