Why are trains so long?

Question

i dont get it.

Answer 1

If they are going to ship something from point A to B, it is much more efficient to do it in long long train than to do it in MANY short trains.   It saves gas (than to run multiple short trains + many engine cars), man power (the engineer), logistics (scheduling them), etc.

Good Luck...

Answer 2

Trains are long because the longer the trains are, the more people and stuff they can be able to carry and it saves energy!!

Answer 3

To make them as profitable as possible.Years ago they were much shorter but as technology evolved they got longer.On single track lines the length of the sidings dictates how long the trains can be.Most siding now days are at least 9000 feet so they limit the trains to a size that will fit in the siding.They have tried even longer trains in places but not with much luck.

Answer 4

$$$

corporate greed

safety be damned

Answer 5

Trains -- a very efficient way to move freight.

Example:  Say you had 100 trailer loads of auto parts in Detroit to be delivered to Atlanta

All well and good;  BUT, you have to pay ALL costs [wages, fuel, etc.]

so, you hire 100 truck drivers @ $.53/mile and fuel is $4.69 per gallon.  Semis have 100 gal. tanks and get around 5 to 10 mpg.  Detroit to Atlanta is approximately 700 Miles.

Fuel cost is $46,900; Mileage cost is $37,100 = $84,000

Contract with a railroad?

Your basic locomotive has a 4000 gallon tank, and for the sake of getting this bad mother over the rails, we'll use 2 engines.  Don't worry about the loco's 150 gal per hour fuel usage; they'll be in Hotlanta before the fuel Gage reads 1/2!

8000 gal x $4.69 = $37,520. Plus whatever the railroad charges you for shipping fees; and I'll bet ya it's less than 47 thousand bucks!

To sum it up, trains are long because by doing it that way it is:

1.  Cost efficient

2.  Fuel efficient

3.  Profitable

So, just enjoy watching them go by and remember --

IF YA BOUGHT IT, A TRAIN BROUGHT IT

Answer 6

I'm with Rango on this one.

Answer 7

Indeed, as Andy said, a train's long length is to maximize its profitability by hauling as many goods as possible since the cost to operate the train does not change.  While a train can become too long, usually today they are operated at about a mile or two in length.

Answer 8

It depends on the type of train. Freight trains in the US carry several 10,000 tons and are very long, up to a mile (!) needing several heavy-duty locomotives to haul them.

Express passenger trains in the UK typically consist of 8-10 carriages which are each about 60 feet long, plus 1 or 2 locos about the same length. Continental expresses are often longer than that.

At the other end of the scale, however, the typical British branch line train consisted of a loco and 1 or 2 carriages, with possibly a van for market produce and a milk wagon in tow.

Answer 9

Just as long enough that cuties can redo their makup in the car.

Answer 10

soo they can hold more things!!