Norfolk Southern recently made its final RoadRailer run.
RoadRailers were innovative trailers or semi-trailers that a tractor unit could haul on roads. Using a fifth-wheel coupling, they could also train on railway lines as a unit.
The RoadRailer system allowed trailers to be pulled by locomotives without using flatcars. Instead, the trailers were directly attached to bogies. Roadrailers first appeared on American railroads in the 1950s.
The offering is credited with helping pave the way for multimodal transportation.
“While the final RoadRailer train was departing, the new TCZU Triple Crown container train was being built for its maiden voyage,” the railroad said in a LinkedIn post.
“With the launch of our new Triple Crown container service, we’re not just preserving the essence of what made RoadRailer successful — we’re enhancing it,” NS added. “This new service will expand our network, unlock capacity, and provide our customers with even greater value and efficiency.”
