Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Annotated article (section)

==Transporting new automobiles==
[[Image:Autorack end, 2-level.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The open end of a two-level autorack that is undergoing repairs.]]
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During the 1960s, specially built auto carriers took over rail transportation of newly manufactured automobiles in North America. They carried more cars in the same space and were easier to load and unload than the boxcars used earlier. [[Arthur Crookshank]] of the [[New York Central Railroad]] is credited with having the first set of cars manufactured for use in the late 1950s.{{citation needed}} Ever-larger auto carriers and specialized terminals were developed by [[Norfolk and Western Railway]] (N&W) and other carriers. Also in this decade, autoracks were built in three-level configurations so railroads could haul more of the smaller vehicles of the era; two-level autoracks were still in use for [[van]]s and light [[Pickup truck|trucks]].

The only problem left was that the new autorack cars did not provide any protection from flying debris or from the weather. In the manner CN had developed in the 1950s, in the 1970s other North American railroads began refining their autorack cars. They began installing side sheathing to protect the vehicles from impact. Roofs were added to most autoracks in the 1980s, and end doors were added in the latter portion of the decade (both to prevent damage and to deter people from boarding the cars and riding the train within the vehicles loaded in them).

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===Trailer Train Company===
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Although railroads were just beginning to see the advantages that autoracks delivered in the 1960s, most North American railroads were reluctant to invest in such specially built equipment. The [[Trailer Train Company]], organized by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and the [[Norfolk & Western]] in 1955, stepped in to ease the railroads' financial burden a bit. Trailer Train purchased the flat cars from the rail car manufacturers, and the railroads that wanted to operate autoracks purchased the racks that were installed on those flat cars. Such cars were easily spotted at trackside due to the reporting marks identifying Trailer Train on the flat car portion of the car and the railroad's logo (usually much larger) in the upper portion of the rack.

[[Image:Autoracks in LA 3-22-99.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Autoracks wait to be unloaded in a [[BNSF Railway]] facility in [[Los Angeles, California]].]]

This arrangement worked so well that nearly every autorack operating in the US was so owned. Trailer Train became [[TTX Corporation]] in 1991; since then many railroads have themselves purchased the flat cars on which the racks were installed and TTX has itself expanded into purchasing and leasing out other railroad [[rolling stock]]. The development of enclosed autoracks also helped make several other innovative services work well.

===New designs and current usage===
Railroads of today are still grappling with the problem of loading more and larger vehicles onto autoracks. One popular solution is to create a double-length car that is articulated over a single middle truck ([[bogie]]) so that each half of the car is about the same length as a conventional autorack. These cars, which can be seen in operation on many of the railroads of the western US, are brand named ''AutoMax'' cars. These cars, built by [[Gunderson]] (a subsidiary of [[The Greenbrier Companies]]) measure 145 ft 4 [[inch|in]] (44.3 m) long and 20 ft 2 in (6 m) tall; they feature adjustable interior decks to carry up to 22 light trucks and minivans.

The railroads became the primary long-distance transporter of completed automobiles, one of few commodities where the industry has been able to overcome trucking in competition. Using the enclosed tri-level autoracks, they were able to provide ''both'' lower costs ''and'' greater protection from in-transit damage (such as that which may occur due to [[weather]] and [[traffic]] conditions on unenclosed [[truck]] [[trailer (vehicle)|trailers]]).

===Latest innovations===
In 2004, [[Canadian National Railway|Canadian National]] was as the forefront of autorack technology again, as it had been in the 1950s by using a more light-weight material, [[aluminium|aluminum]]. The new cars, built by [[Johnstown America Corporation]] beginning in December 2004, are brand named ''AVC'', an acronym for ''Aluminum Vehicle Carrier''. 200 new aluminum autoracks promise a softer ride, a wider interior, superior door-edge protection, and a rust-free interior from older steel versions. [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] has ordered 375 of these new cars as well. The new cars built for [[Amtrak]] [[Auto Train (Amtrak)|Auto Train]] service differ from those built for CN and CP; the Amtrak cars are three inches shorter in height, and use solid side panels instead of the perforated panels operated in freight service.