Hansen's does not own a railway or rail car. They will use the same train that searail uses to go across the country.

Some cars are designed for it, and some aren't. There are imports that aren't.

Really? You don't see a difference between g forces that are on a horizontal plane vs. vertical or lateral?

Incidentally, braking hard is nowhere close to the g-force of an impact from hitting something

Although i'm no physics guy. I truly do not follow you here. Cars will experience load forces from every direction..

And what in the hell is a train going to hit? A mountain?

Really? Tell me which imports then.. and I'll just prove you wrong.

I think they were made of glass^^^

if your car has 4 wheels it is designed for travel by rail. I used to load cars and trucks onto rail cars. They will ship all private vehicles on a bi-level rail car. They use chalk blocks that lock into the grate on the floor, one for every wheel 2 in front 2 in the back. Dont leave anything in the car! Some people will steal anything. You cant leave items locked in the trunk incase the spare tire is needed, it happens.

Damage can occur when the trains hook up to a string of cars. There are notices on every rail car that states "do not bump over 4 km/h" As for a train hitting a mountain, not exactly. Mountains how ever can hit trains, and Ive seen that devistation on a bi-level before. (land slides) 10 dually GMC and Chevy trucks just tossed like tonka toys. Space is money so the cars are always packed as tight as they can get, but the rule is no closer than 10" which sometimes gets ignored, but more often than not is followed.

Dust happens. Even when BMW and mercedes ships their cars across the country dust happens. It is not from sitting in the yard. Cars dont sit around long enough to collect dust in a big paved parking lot.

As for who to use I dont have a lot of experiance in that end of things. We dealt mainly with searail and I know they had a good quality control system in place. Anything else I might be able to shed some light on I'd be happy to

Hahah ya, the lady at Searail told me I could leave anything in the car... But it wouldn't make it to the other side:P

Are the vehicles driven onto the train, or are they loaded without turning the vehicle on? Do people ever screw around with the cars?

Thanks!

All vehicles are driven onto the rail cars yes. Most of the time private vehicles will be loaded by more experianced rail workers. Either way they are all professionals, usually loading 50-60 cars a day.

As for do people screw around in them, the anwser isnt the one you want to hear. It happens, most people are pretty good with not being children in the cars, some others are not and will screw around. The good thing about that is usually it is very tough to screw around due to the bosses being around and keeping a close eye on things. Chances are way very very good that your car wont get used and abused, but it has happened in the past.

This was never MY personal policy, but "through the grape vine" I heard it might not be a bad idea to leave a few bucks in change in the ash tray, expect it to be gone but if someone gets in your car to load or off-load and gets a couple bucks for themselves (i know its so silly) they will be happy and less likely to rag on the car

Thanks, I think I'll do that actually. I'd rather give them a couple bucks than spend thousands replacing my clutch and diff :(.

Anyone ever use ABR Shipping? http://www.abrshipping.com. Quoted me $1,100 via train... OR $1255 by transporte truck. From here to Waterloo Ontario.

also contacted http://www.autorail.com/ and cost $1500 just by train.

Fact of the matter is that a manufacturer shipping by train can take precautions that an individual owner cannot. Just like shipping on a RO-RO vessel where the vehicle's paint is protected by film, a car shipped by rail may have spacers and braces placed at strategic parts to prevent damage when the rail cars collide. I have heard far too many horror stories to ever consider shipping any of my vehicles by rail - and I've shipped my car across the country 3 times. I used a service that was expensive, but they took great care of my car.

Just hire Dana Carvey to drive your Saab across country.

You've never experienced a "bump"/"jolt"/"jeer" while driving? Me impresso.

no, they do not have spacers or braces anywhere. All vehicles shipped by rail are shipped the exact same. Your 89 honda civic will be shipped the exact same as a brand new top of the line benz

So, you don't have any real information on import manufacturers then that DON'T ship by rail... to back up your previous claim (yeah, I'm shocked..). You obviously don't have a clue about rail transport.

Unless they derail or crash... which, contrary to popular belief, happens very rarely... Rail cars don't "collide" any worse than you drive a car on the street. In fact, I'd say you're probably going to do much worse damage driving your car every day with crummy roads than the forces a car in a rail car experience.

Excessive buff and slack forces are taken up by the coupler and drawbar. And car carriers (autoracks, FYI!) are gentler by design. Your TV, computer, and all the shit you own probably came by rail somewhere along the way... and the containers they got transported in get treated way worse than the autoracks do.

So STFU when you clearly don't have a clue. :thumbsup:

FUCK!!

Why didn't you say something earlier, my car just got picked up yesterday morning to go on the train :cry:

AND I have to drive it to Waterloo myself from Toronto =(. AND I have to have a separate taxi bring my luggage from Toronto because my car won't fit jack shit in the trunk.
PS. You got PM ;)

LOL you guys going to RIM?

Holy fuck good to know.