MAJOR RAIL CARRIERS FOCUS ON RECYCLE MARKETS

This article explains how Conrail and Norfolk Southern have begun to haul recycling materials, and sees it as a growing market. Most of the cars Conrail uses to haul for recycling are 50-ft, wood-lined boxcars built specifically for transporting newsprint or finished paper. A typical car might carry 60-65 tons of ONP (old Newspapers) or 50-60 tons of OCC (old corrugated containers), roughly 2.5 truckloads. The boxcars are carefully inspected after each shipment for wear or rough walls that might damage a roll. Norfolk Southern has also made a concerted effort to provide paper quality cars with water-tight, snag-free interiors.