Shipload of Railcars...? Something I've never heard of.

[wazzou]

This Video just became available.  I think it's pretty danged cool and shows the innovation of the time.

[learmoia]

Well, thats one way to do it...
Apparently they hadn't heard of car floats??..

.... I suppose that's no different than containers in COFC/Stack service.

~Ian

[jagged ben]

Cool.

Seatrain did get into containerization later on. 

I knew of those containers but I didn't know of the stuff in the video or much else about Seatrain history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seatrain_Lines

Thanks for sharing.   

[nkalanaga]

~Ian:  A car float that could carry 95 cars, even in 1929, would be a BIG barge.  Also, Florida to Cuba can be a rough crossing, and cars are less likely to be lost from an enclosed ship than from an open barge.

On the other hand, they do haul freight cars between Washington and Alaska by barge, towed with a long cable, so it can be done.

[Blazeman]

On the other hand, they do haul freight cars between Washington and Alaska by barge, towed with a long cable, so it can be done.

And from Mobile to Coatzocoalcos.

[nkalanaga]

Blazeman:  I hadn't heard of  that one.  Thank you!

[Blazeman]

Blazeman:  I hadn't heard of  that one.  Thank you!

http://www.cgrailway.com/services.html

[nkalanaga]

I looked that one up.  They use a real roll on/roll off ferry, self propelled, like Europe and New Zealand, and probably other places.  I didn't know we had any of those in railroad ocean service, although Washington, BC, and Alaska have ocean-going automobile ferries.

South Florida to Puerto Rico wouldn't be much farther.  It would be interesting to see some PR cars up here, if they still have a railroad.  They used to.

On the other hand, I can see why they don't use something similar for the Alaska service.  I doubt that anyone ever tried to send 100+ cars to Alaska at one time...

[Cajonpassfan]

For its time, pretty flippin' amazing.
Otto K.