Western Railroad Discussion > Fun with ONE (Ocean Network Express)

Ocean Network Express (ONE) started in 2017 as a joint venture between Japan's shipping companies, namely Nippon Yusen (NYK), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and Kawasaki Kisen (K-Line). O.S.K. is the initial for Osaka Shosen, which Mitsui merged with in 1964.

My interest in ONE started many years ago with K-Line containers seen on westbound stack trains through Donner toward Oakland. Specifically, ZNPOA (North Platte, NE to Oakland), ZG2OAB (Global2 to Oakland), and currently, ICBOA (Council Bluffs, IA to Oakland).

In the past, I've tracked down the ONE/K-Line reefer box movements on the UP in Pacific Northwest, Southern California, on the Iowa Interstate in the Midwest, and in Japan. What's new to me is the movement outside those areas, ZLBDV as documented by cricket in a recent post, and on the northbound ZLCTM (LATC to TacSIM in Tacoma, WA).

I'm curious on these new movements on the north/east Z trains, which imply they might be loads coming from Japan. As of now, no definitive answer, but I can deal with mystery and uncertainty. No need to stress over absolute "answer."

Anyway, I had fun with ONE containers during my visit to SoCal earlier this month (January), where I caught the UP 1943, found a WP boxcar, and so forth.

- ONE and NYK reefer boxes double-stacked, eastbound "I" train.
- Reefer box on top of 20' boxes, ONE and "legacy" K-Line.
- ONE poker - 3 of a kind? Flush? 40' and 2x20' non-reefer boxes.

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While non-reefer ONE boxes are normally purple with white lettering, there's a few misleading ONE boxes out there that are white with purple lettering, but non-reefer. So far without exception, the non-reefer beige boxes are corrugated, as opposed to smoother sides on the reefer ones with the mechanical reefers on one of the ends.

Image posted here is an example.

I commented on an earlier report that the ZLCTM I caught earlier this month post-holidays didn't have any 40' ONE/K-Line reefer boxes. Subsequent ones have had them, and the video is an example from January 12 which had many of them in the middle of the train. This train ran as usual on the Sacramento Sub which I caught at Eight Mile Road.

So looks like they are here to stay on the ZLCTM?

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Nice post!  I have seen some of the ONE boxes on BNSF but usually just dry boxes.

texchief1

Good stuff Mr.C!

ZLCTM is one oof my "regular" cathes here in NorCal. Saw the ONE containers aplenty in early January, but seems to have dried up the past couple weeks (still sporadic). Up until their presense, we haven't had international boxes on that train in the last decade!

ross Wrote:
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> ZLCTM is one oof my "regular" cathes here in
> NorCal. Saw the ONE containers aplenty in early
> January, but seems to have dried up the past
> couple weeks (still sporadic). Up until their
> presense, we haven't had international boxes on
> that train in the last decade!

Yeah, I didn't expect to see any marine boxes in the "Dole Banana" days of the ZLCBR (before ZLCTM).

I was watching railcams while I was readying this report yesterday, and did see a handful of ONE boxes on yesterday's ZLCTM.

I was wondering if those ONEs were originating from Central or South America like the bananas.   Also, the relatively new Werner containers have been a staple of this train past 6 months.

Meanwhile from a blocking perspective, you can see the ONEs on the Chehalis cam at 2:09pm camera time today 1/31 so they go all the way to Tacsim.  So, past Tehachapi the train has a headend block LA to Tacsim, including the ONEs, with a Brooklyn block behind the reefers includiing the diminishing level of trailers.   After dropping the Brooklyn cut it appears to pick up another Seattle block, tacked on behind the reefers, maybe from the ZG2BR.      

memphisfreight Wrote:
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> I was wondering if those ONEs were originating
> from Central or South America like the bananas.

My guess is that the ONEs are from Japan, and there are direct shipping routes from Tokyo to Long Beach. Slightly off topic and I briefly mentioned this in another thread, but beef market in Japan has changed in recent years, and the beef producers are trying to export "wagyu beef" to other countries. This has been covered in the Japanese media in the past couple of years.

Dole Banana trailers disappeared almost a decade ago, way before the ONE reefers showed up in Long Beach going north and east. I suspect the bananas might be transloaded into one of the 53' boxes now.

Japan is still importing American/Australian beef for budget-conscious food, like beef bowls, so the Midwest ONE/K-Line reefer boxes continue to go to Oakland.
 

One more to add to the fun, 45' over 40' on a different train,  2x2x0 ILBMN pulled by SD70AH-T4 and UP 1982, which I reported on few weeks ago:
 

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