Method of Shipping Automobiles, Railcar for Shipping Automobiles, and Method of Manufacturing Railcars

Abstract

A method of shipping automobiles, a railcar for shipping automobiles, and a method of manufacturing railcars for shipping automobiles to enable more efficient shipping of automobiles by increasing load factor.

1 . A tri-level railcar capable of transporting in commercial rail service passenger cars newly manufactured in the United States from January through November, 2008 having predetermined characteristics shared by over 90% of said passenger cars, with a load factor of at least 15, comprising:
 first, second and third decks;   said railcar having substantially equal top and bottom clearances above each of said decks to enable passenger cars having said predetermined characteristics to be loaded onto, transported to a destination on, and unloaded from all decks of the railcar using circus loading and unloading techniques, without the need to raise end portions of a deck to provide increased vertical clearance for loading, and without any clearance-related restrictions as to which individual passenger cars may be in which positions on said decks during transport on said railcar;   each of said decks providing sufficient clearance to permit any passenger car having said predetermined characteristics to be driven from a first end of said deck to a second end of said deck at a speed up to about 5 mph without any portion of the passenger car, other than the tires, contacting said deck, while accommodating at least 3 in. of vertical displacement of said passenger car on its suspension system;   each of said decks being substantially horizontal along substantially the entire length of each deck and having vertical clearances of at least about 64 to 66 in.;   said railcar, when fully loaded at up to about 24,000 lbs. per deck with passenger cars having said predetermined characteristics, having a Cg no greater than 98 in. ATR and an overall height of about 20′2″.   
     
     
         2 . The tri-level railcar of  claim 1 , wherein said railcar has a load factor of at least 18 for over 10% of passenger cars manufactured in the United States in 2008. 
     
     
         3 . The railcar of  claim 1  wherein the roof assembly comprises a roof having a bottom surface and a plurality of door pivot assemblies extending partially below said bottom surface, and wherein clearances above said first, second and third decks are approximately equal, with clearance above said third deck being measured to said door pivot assembly. 
     
     
         4 . The railcar of  claim 1  wherein said railcar has an empty weight of no more than about 116,000 lbs.