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Old 09-03-2010, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Spain
1,854 posts, read 4,899,463 times
Reputation: 973

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This topic gets thrown around a fair amount in "what city is more important ___ or ___" type threads but I haven't seen a single thread dedicated to it yet and I searched for "rail" and "freight", soooo lets do it.

What U.S. cities are the most important for the national freight rail transport network? Which ones handle the most goods? Which are most connected to other cities via rail? Which city's rail infrastructure is most economically important?

Chicago seems like an obvious choice, I remember learning about that in high school history years ago. I also recall hearing about how some rail lines ended in San Francisco, so maybe the Bay Area? Los Angeles? Atlanta? Kansas City? These are other cities I have heard mentioned in conversations of this topic.

What do you think are the top 5?
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Old 09-03-2010, 05:24 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Chicago is number uno! 1/3 of the country's total cargo goes through Chicagoland! And they are also home to all 6 of the Class A rail lines in the USA and a bunch of other non-Class A ones too!

- Los Angeles
- Bay Area
- DFW Metroplex
- Atlanta

Those make up the remaining four, I believe.
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Old 09-03-2010, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Spain
1,854 posts, read 4,899,463 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Awesome Danny View Post
Chicago is number uno! 1/3 of the country's total cargo goes through Chicagoland! And they are also home to all 6 of the Class A rail lines in the USA and a bunch of other non-Class A ones too!

- Los Angeles
- Bay Area
- DFW Metroplex
- Atlanta

Those make up the remaining four, I believe.
Yeah, I knew it was some ridiculously high percentage but I forgot what number exactly. I'm sure Chicago's central location helps in this category, same goes for Atlanta and Dallas, too.
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Old 09-03-2010, 05:48 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Yeah, DFW in general grew because of the railroad system. Its got a nice location and its a good piece added with Houston's port activity.

Atlanta same way, although more of the East coast area, but the primary hub for the Southeast. DFW being the lower South Central. Chicago having the most centralized location of any major city in North America.

Houston, New York City, & Phoenix get honorable mention since they have extensive systems for freight rail but they do not make top 5 in my personal opinion, although they are top 8 material. New York City is also top 8 material for the Eastern terminus of major cargo shipments.

Railroads have been a rich history for San Francisco & Chicago in particular. You can recount back to the times where the earliest Chinese immigrants were lured from overseas to take part of what many deem as the completion of the Manifest Destiny Era where both Coast to Coast were connected via rail transportation. East meets West!

A lot of shipments via railroads are a major component of both the Bay Area & Los Angeles still, they are among the top 5 for sure on that.

Also remember the Gadsen Purchase, where we bought the land which includes present day Tucson, Arizona (one of the best purchases there is) from Mexico for rail extension. Rail history has had a significant role in the extension of the USA in general and these prominent cities that were established around it then are still key players today. Phoenix gets honorable mention for that cause, with Tucson rounding out the top 15 cities for freight rail. (in my opinion via research of history and shipments)
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Old 09-03-2010, 06:04 PM
 
Location: Seattle & Bellevue
253 posts, read 963,910 times
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Chicago as #1...then maybe SF, LA, Dallas and New Jersey?
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Old 09-03-2010, 10:00 PM
 
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St Louis has historically been one of the nation's busiest rail hubs. When you look at a map, it is obvious why.
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Old 09-03-2010, 10:10 PM
 
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,816,905 times
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Is this data listed somewhere so it's not as subjective? I'd actually like to know the results for every city!
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Old 09-03-2010, 10:28 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by west336 View Post
Is this data listed somewhere so it's not as subjective? I'd actually like to know the results for every city!
Yes I'll be happy to shed some light on Chicago's! Tucson's is fair and simple anyone who knows of the Gasden Purchase will know its relevance, and San Francisco's too especially concerning immigration status when it was being built. But later on tomorrow I will go more in depth on San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City, Dallas, Tucson, Houston, & Atlanta and their systems and how relevant they are on a national stage.

Here is an excerpt on Chicago: (The main transportation hub of America)
Quote:
Chicago is a major transportation hub in the United States. It is an important component in global distribution, as it is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.Additionally, it is the only city in North America in which six Class I railroads meet.
About one-third of the country's freight trains pass through the city, making it a major national bottleneck.
Class One Railroads of America in connection to Chicago:









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Old 09-03-2010, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,816,905 times
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Cool maps, but I may be the only one....but I didn't get it really. I'd still like to see more stats and perhaps a list, if applicable.

Does anyone have stats or lists and rankings of this subject matter? I've always been interested in railroads and freight in general. I know Minneapolis is/was a major freight center of commerce (primarily for grains) in the Midwest, but the entire Midwest and its major cities all have major freight centers and I don't know which are the biggest/most important behind Chicago.
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Old 09-03-2010, 10:39 PM
 
Location: On the Rails in Northern NJ
12,380 posts, read 26,746,347 times
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Newark is the hub for half the Northeastern Freight Network and serves as a JCT for all the Passenger and intercity lines.
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