One of TTX’s new Dynastack well cars sits outside the Alabama plant.
Chris Guss
CHICAGO – FreightCar America has landed its first order for its Dynastack five-unit intermodal car. The order is for 50 five-unit, 40-foot well cars for delivery to TTX beginning in early 2014. The cars feature a lower tare weight than traditional cars by using mechanically fastened truss sides. Reporting marks assigned to the order will be in the DTTX series.
The order is being constructed at its new Cherokee, Ala., plant that began production in 2013. The plant was purpose-built in 2008 to build rail cars, but the original company backed out of the deal and the plant was eventually leased by Navistar. FreightCar America subleases about 25 percent of the 2.2 million square foot building from Navistar.
When fully operational, FreightCar America will have the capacity to produce 5,000 to 7,000 rail cars per year at the facility.
Good for FCA who is fighting to survive in the railcar manufacturing industry with the drop in coal car orders.
That's a pretty snazzy looking well car!
Does anyone have any idea how FCA was able to steal this well car business from Greenbrier, National Steel Car, and the like? Has FCA found away to trump everyone on price, or are there innovative new features that make the car attractive to TTX? (The slightly lower tare weight can't be the whole story… that's just not a big enough factor to tip the scales, IMHA.)
Thanks!
40 foot well cars are indeed in extreme demand for international marine containers. Many 45, 48, and even a few 53 foot cars IIRC have been shortened to 40 feet.
Yes, it'll be a 5-unit articulated double stack well car.
I understand the truss design to reduce tare weight, but it would seem that it would complicate manufacturing, and increase the chance of a floor failure when loaded with 20' units.
Good news for Cherokee, Alabama! I used to deliver to that small town over 20 years ago.
The accompanying photo is of 20 percent of the car, right?
What is shown (semi) permanently coupled to 4 more units would complete the car, a ten platform car, right?
Or maybe and I guess rarely a twenty platform car…if a platform is "a place you can load a container for transport,"
Load all 5 units with 2 20' containers, each 20' unit becomes a platform for a 20' container to be "stacked."
Thus, 10 platforms loaded in the wells and topped with 10 more 20' boxes.
Which, I guess provides another 10 platforms—-triple stack-trains?
It will be interesting to see containers with triangle-shaped graffiti patches after the cars are tagged!
What will be retired next when the new cars are built and delivered?
By accident a proactive design to thwart graffiti…..i.e. open truss sides!
This is good news for FreightCar America. However, not too long ago whilst traveling home through southern Georgia I passed string after string of 40' well cars sitting in storage on the truncated ACL line to Albany east of Waycross. Has the demand for 40' wells increased that much in such a short period of time?