Norfolk Southern 9800 leads NS 255 Triple Crown RoadRailer train westbound as it passes through the curve outside of Sidney, Illinois on the NS Lafayette District on August 17th, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will become a thing of the past as of the 24-25th of August 2024 as the service will be discontinued and transitioned fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However on August 12th, 2024 they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/25, 1/350, ISO 1400.