Nostalgia & History > BNSF Automax train.

The eastbound BNSF Automax train at MP 251.5, Yellow Bank curve on the BNSF Marceline sub in Winter 2001.

Thanks  for viewing.

Ron Hirsch
Springfield, Mo.

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Those automax cars were largely not repeated.  How come?  

I see rack cars being purchased now which are 86' and have movable levels for various kinds of vehicles.  Is that the answer?

There was a few reasons, the Automaxes were not more widely adopted
1) 20'2" clearance was an issue in a few corridors with a few roads.  The 20'2" height would have been useful as the auto industry moved to bi-level product in the last decade.  The industry missed an opportunity when signifificant investment was made in 19' racks in the 2011-2016 timeframe.  
2) UP did not embrace rhe technology--it was primarily a BNSF conveyance.  And when the industry moved to keep the Automax of the new Auto Distribution rules in 2013, it really put the nail in the coffin
3) it was a third (in a tri-level configuration) or a fourth ( bi-level configuration) car type.  That added complexity and inefficiency at the terminals
4) larger capacity was well suited to large flows, but smaller lanes were not well suited to the Automax
5) TTX capital model and car hire rules favored the rack on flat technology, as opposed to integrated Automax car 

it was a technology, that would have made the industry more efficient, had it been widely supported.  It was a missed opportunity